Moving away from waste and excess, and focusing on the gift of giving back to the environment
Oakwood Premier Melbourne is bucking the trend this festive season, forgoing elaborate and wasteful decorations and instead, opting to create a more environmentally-friendly Christmas Wonderland.
The move is all part of Oakwood’s continuing commitment to creating a more sustainable future.
Instead of choosing the typical artificial Christmas tree that provides the centrepiece for most hotel lobbies, Oakwood enlisted the help of its internal engineering team, giving them a challenge too fun to refuse: create a fully sustainable Christmas tree and giant charity gift box using only existing or reclaimed materials from the hotel and surrounding local area.
Their engineering team enthusiastically accepted the challenge and quickly got to work. Starting with an old cable drum donated from a local neighbourhood electrical wholesaler, they drilled a hole in it and sanded it down to create the tree’s base. A pole made from a combination of an old sprinkler pipe and a 10mm threaded rod was then inserted in the middle to hold the structure together.
From there, they sourced and collected wooden pallets that had been thrown out, stripping each one, cutting to size and sanding down, before arranging the planks individually into a spiral to create the tree’s shape. To top it off, a star was made using aluminium sheeting leftover from the renovations of their reception desks. The base was then covered with hessian and burlap material from an old coffee sack, resulting in a striking, fully sustainable Christmas tree at 2670mm tall.
Standing at 1.2m by 1.2m, the accompanying giant gift box – which allows hotel guests to make gift card or monetary donations to local charity partner, Lighthouse Foundation – was also made from wood stripped from old pallets sourced from the hotel and neighbouring shops.
General Manager Mathias Waas said: “Oakwood Premier Melbourne is always striving to do better, setting ambitious but achievable goals when it comes to the environment.
“Earlier this year, we discontinued providing straws and plastic water bottles in the hotel. In addition to this, all coffee cups on property were changed to an environmentally friendly, recyclable option.
“Our decision to create a Christmas tree and charity gift box made from 100% recycled, eco-friendly material builds on this commitment to sustainability, and we hope our guests will enjoy what we’ve created – the gift of giving back to the planet and showing that small actions and good intentions can make a big impact.”
Oakwood’s sustainable Christmas display will be unveiled this Friday 1st December and will run for the whole festive season.
Oakwood Premier Melbourne x Lighthouse Foundation Partnership
This festive season, Oakwood Premier Melbourne has teamed up with Lighthouse Foundation to provide care and support to young people at risk of, or experiencing, homelessness. Hotel guests and visitors can either place a gift card in Oakwood’s Charity Gift Box or scan a QR Code to make a monetary donation to help a young person heal, thrive and achieve a lifelong sense of belonging.
Website:
Oakwood Premier Melbourne – https://www.discoverasr.com/en/oakwood/australia/oakwood-premier-melbourne
Strato Melbourne – https://www.stratomelbourne.com.au
Instagram:
Oakwood Premier Melbourne – @oakwoodpremiermelbourne
Strato Melbourne – @stratomelbourne
