Bryce Roberts with a Bio Urn and Sabre’s memorial plaque.
Camera IconBryce Roberts with a Bio Urn and Sabre’s memorial plaque. Credit: Supplied/Will Russell

Beckenham resident nominated for Australian Small Business Champion for pet tributes

Ben SmithComment News

IT has been a whirlwind few months for Australian Small Business Champion nominee and Beckenham resident Bryce Roberts.

Mr Roberts’ beloved rottweiler Sabre died of cancer late last year and he wanted to find a special way to remember him, leading him to Trees of Memories.

Now, he is the company’s sole Western Australia distributor of Bio Urns, a biodegradable urn containing the ashes of the dearly departed and seeds and soil that creates a living memorial.

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He said his nomination for Best New Business at the Australian Small Business Champion awards was “out of the blue” and he could not believe the success since taking on the business in October.

“I definitely wouldn’t have thought this came from my little man passing away, and it going so big, but it’s very comforting,” he said.

He said the bio urns helped people who had lost loved ones through the healing process.

“I suppose scattering the ashes, people feel like they’re throwing loved ones away and just having them sitting on a shelf is a little bit unnatural, or there’s no closure,” he said.

“This is something more eco-friendly and it turns loved ones’ energies into a living memorial.

“I was scared of getting to a day where you just didn’t think about them any more. But I’m watering the plant every day. I’m seeing buds form and some flowers open up.

“It’s just a positive way of looking at the end of it all and realising the energies are still there.”

While he is hopeful of winning the award, he is more enthusiastic about the future of his business.

“The company motto is ‘trees not cemeteries’, so it would be nice if we could have trees instead of tombstones.”