As part of a partnership between the flight company and Greening Australia Virgin sent some of its “sustainability ambassadors” to the state as part of its program to help plant native trees and vegetation.

The program saw some staff travel to Ross to plant trees on the Ashby property to help with the establishment of the native shelterbelts that is being established as part of the Midlands restoration program.

Virgin Australia head of sustainability Rob Wood said the program had been running since May and was part of a national program announced by Virgin’s founder Sir Richard Branson.

The relationship between the two organisations was recently launched by Sir Branson in Sydney together with Greening Australia’s new program Reef Aid, which is a practical initiative to reduce soil erosion and help restore water quality to the Great Barrier Reef.

“We have a lot of our crew who are interested in conservation work and it’s all about tapping into that interest and finding a way to fuel it back to see what we can do in our local communities,” Mr Wood said.

“That is why we see this project as so important, it is a way to make a real difference to the health of the Midlands district and the wildlife within it.”

Mr Wood said the Tasmania project was a “trial site” and he hoped it would grow to expand to other sites across the country, to allow Virgin Australia staff to undertake the conservation program.

Virgin Australia sustainability ambassadors Simone Skuse and Joel Briffa said they both had a strong affinity to conservation work.

“I studied environmental studies at uni and have always had an interest in conservation work,” Miss Skuse said.

“With the amount of carbon and the wastage that any airline produces I think it’s our responsibility to find a sustainable way to give back,” she said.

Mr Briffa said he enjoyed conservation work and said the program allowed him an avenue to give back to other communities such as the Tasmanian Midlands.

Miss Skuse said it was a good fit for people involved with airline companies to try and negate the carbon cost of air travel.

Greening Australia’s Tasmanian director of conservation Sebastian Burgess said the long term partnership with Virgin Australia was already showing great results.

For more information on the Midlands restoration program go to Greening Australia’s website.