Sunny side up!
Summer’s here and the Trust’s message is sounding from the hedgerows to the high street, says our chief executive Darren Moorcroft
On my way to visit the Eden Project this April, I clocked a gorgeous oak on a triangle of grass between roads. Its branches were silhouetted against the dawn sky like the veins of a lung – fitting, as it was working hard to filter the air for the people of St Austell, where I stood waiting for my coach. Neighbourhood trees like that are vital, but often found only in affluent suburbs, so the Trust’s Trees For All programme is targeting places with low canopy cover to bring their benefits to everyone. Catch up with the latest urban tree planting on page 8.
My next stop was Slough Court, a fifth-generation dairy farm in Somerset, where I talked agroforestry with Simon Roberts, chief executive of Sainsbury’s. Our relationship with the supermarket is two decades strong, and we’ve just signed a four-year, £4 million agreement to work with its farmers in three of our priority landscapes. In the East Anglian Claylands, we will plant saplings in strips between arable crops, while in the South West, we’ll scatter copses to shelter beef and dairy herds and connect pockets of the region’s rare temperate rainforest.
Simon had a last-minute meeting at 10 Downing Street that afternoon but still made the effort to come and see us, which shows how much he cares about stitching trees into the fabric of Britain’s farmland to help future-proof his supply chain.
That commitment is the result of an incremental shift in thinking, underpinned by our expertise and informed by mutual trust. In 22 years, Sainsbury’s has sold almost 10 billion Woodland Trust eggs, raising £16 million and giving shoppers an ethical option. Enjoy tucking into the magazine.
