Member for Eastern Victoria Harriet Shing visited local plant nursery Habitat Creations recently to view completion of its recent expansion.
Representing Regional Development Gayle Tierney at the company's Yarragon nursery, Ms Shing also was joined by Baw Baw Shire mayor Annemarie McCabe for a tour of the facility, taking in all of the sights and sounds of the planting process.
Habitat Creations' expansion was thanks to an investment from the Victorian State Government through Regional Development Victoria.
The nurseries are now capable of producing an additional 500,000 aquatic, riparian and terrestrial plants each year using recycled rainwater, generating a boost in the company's production capacity.
Nine full-time jobs have been created across both sites to maintain the plants, adding to Habitat Creations' 60 existing employees who work across Gippsland and greater Melbourne.
Habitat Creations was founded in 2007 and sells plants from its Yarragon and Moe nurseries. Their company also offers tree planting, environmental and conservation land management, and other services throughout Victoria and even Tasmania.
They have worked on projects for various groups including Baw Baw Shire, Parks Victoria and Healesville Sanctuary.
The Yarragon expansion includes a 2000 square metre aquatic plant growing nursery, interactive mobile office area and a training room to boost employee skills while in Moe the nursery's growing area has increased from 100 to 1000 square metres to provide more space for plants.
The expansion includes an increased seed storage capacity which is boosting the company's capacity to develop new seed drying and cleaning technologies.
The nurseries also will save on energy and costs with the adoption of solar power and an upgraded irrigation system.
"These nursery expansions in Yarragon and Moe will significantly boost local employment and economic growth, showcasing the vital impact of our investments across Gippsland," Ms Shing said.