TEAMWORK MAKING THE WILDLIFE DREAM WORK

North Wales Wildlife Trust has been boosted by amazing support from the P&A Group, after working together on a number of recent projects

The Trust, together with its members and volunteers – and supported by a growing network of thousands of people in diverse communities – is committed to bringing wildlife back, empowering people to take action for nature and to create a society where nature matters. Over the past 12 months, employees from the P&A Group have volunteered on several projects to assist with replanting and bringing wildlife back to specific areas.

One such initiative was the Woodlands for Water project. Employees representing the Group’s various divisions donned their wellies and worked alongside other volunteers to plant 2,000 hedgerow plants on wetlands on Flintshire farms.

Meanwhile, Woodworks Garden Centre and Café, which is part of the P&A Group, has been assisting Jonathan Hulson and Sarah Ellis from Aberduna nature reserve in growing native ‘hedging’ for sale at the garden centre. The hawthorn hedging is planted in peat-free compost and is sold in pots of six pieces.

Community contributions

Rhys Hughes, director, strategic development and supply chain at the P&A Group said: “We are delighted to now be members of the North Wales Wildlife Trust. Part of the P&A Group’s mission is to

“contribute to the communities in which we serve”, be this raising money for local charities or by having a positive impact on the local environment. Over the past 18 months Kathy Mitchell, head of Woodworks Plants Department, and others from the Woodworks team have worked with their local Trust to develop hawthorn hedging, and co-operated with DEFRA to ensure that plant passports and correct labelling were in place before the Trust could start to supply us. We really hope that our Garden Centre customers appreciate this new offering, and everyone within the P&A Group looks forward to donning our wellies and getting stuck in helping with future planting and nature recovery projects.”

He added: “The Trust plans on working collaboratively with Woodworks this year by holding open day events at the garden centre, where they can speak with potential volunteers and educate customers on the local wildlife.”

Graeme Cotterill, head of strategy and operations for North Wales Wildlife Trust said: “We are very grateful to the P&A Group for its continued support, be that through employees volunteering as part of our planting projects or by the Woodworks Garden Centre becoming a customer of the Trust – which is a first for us!”

Tree-mendous effort!

A green-fingered group from Farndon Primary School in Cheshire planted a special tree earlier this year, to commemorate the King’s Coronation

The Year 5 children, who are all members of the school’s popular Gardening Club, planted the tree in the grounds of the school with the help of Ed Barnston of the Barnston Estate. Ed provided the school with a liquidambar tree, known for its vibrant colours and maple-like leaves, and helped Felix, nine, Henry, 10, Phoebe, 10 and Zara, 10 to dig a hole and plant it.

Zara said: “It was good to plant a tree and I’m looking forward to seeing it grow.”

Andrew Walker, head teacher at the Churton

Road school said: “It was great to work with the Barnston Estate to plant a symbolic tree at the front of the school.”

Ed added: “It was wonderful to meet some of the children from Farndon Primary School and to get them involved with the tree planting. They really got stuck in, helping to dig a hole and prepare the soil, and they asked lots of interesting questions about the type of tree and how it will change with the seasons. “I hope it will bring decades of bright colour to the school grounds.”