Environment section.qxp_Layout 1 17/02/2021 17:57 Page 7
New enterprise to help tackle climate crisis aN idea discussed over lunch and a glass of wine whilst on a winter holiday in early 2020 has morphed into a new Mendip enterprise being established with the goal of helping companies reduce their carbon footprint through planting native woodlands and restoring biodiversity. Wanderlands is the brainchild of friends Tim Oliver and Pat Bridgman, both of whom live in Downside, Shepton Mallet, who during the first lockdown designed their proposition. They have ambitious plans to plant 500,000 native broad leaf trees supported by new biodiversity creation across Somerset and other parts of the UK over the next five years, to help businesses and other organisations to offset their Co2 emissions generated by their everyday activities. Croscombe, between Shepton Mallet and Wells, is at the centre of their first scheme. The village nestles in the steep slopes of a valley. On one side – known locally as Croscombe Hill – Wanderlands have bought 20 acres of marginal farmland which will be restored to become a species-rich meadow of wild flora. The site has been identified as having prehistoric and Romano-British archaeological importance so any tree planting will be kept to a minimum in one specific corner of the field. Directly across the valley is Paradise Hill, where Wanderlands has begun planting 3,500 trees including chestnut, hazel, oak, birch, wild cherry and sycamore. The new woodland will feature walks, interpretation boards and a picnic area for everyone to enjoy and as an educational resource for schools and the
wider public. In an unusual move, every tree will be numbered, photographed and uploaded to the Wanderlands website for people to track online, through their tree tracker app. The launch of Wanderlands coincides with the pending passage of the environment Bill due for final reading in Parliament this autumn. One of its key proposals is to set out a plan in line with the governments ambitions to achieve their Paris Climate accord commitments to have businesses, companies and organisations to establish and report their carbon footprint and their plans to achieve carbon neutral status. The government has set a target of 2050 for UK businesses to become carbon neutral. Tim and Pat say Wanderlands partner with independent expert advisors such as chartered environmentalist, ecologists, foresters and land agents to help businesses develop their environmental accountability. Tim said: “Tree planting and biodiversity creation go hand in hand in order to maximise carbon sequestration and restore the natural environment. Whilst it plays a major part in the solution, it needs to be coupled with other measures such as companies and businesses adopting to replace their vehicle from petrol or diesel to electric as they renew.
Forestry director Oli Frost (centre) with colleagues Jim and James on Paradise Hill
For details, visit: www.wanderlands.earth
ENVIRONMENT
Pat Bridgman (left) and Tim Oliver on Croscombe Hill
“Wanderlands look to provide a full set of options in giving companies solutions, while at the heart of solution will be a need to restore and plant new woodland and create new biodiversity, through flora and fauna. Solutions for businesses have to be pragmatic and commercially sensitive to the needs of business. He added: “Working with us not only helps a business with addressing their carbon footprint, but it they benefit from delivering a strong brand narrative to a business environmental and social responsibility, a subject which increasingly is top of mind for all consumers.” Pat said: “Globally, there’s been a proliferation of tree planting organisations in recent years. Obviously, this is a good thing, but we’ve also noticed that unless sites are maintained through dedicated support, planting projects can derail.” “For us, it was a simple equation: we identify the appropriate land, we secure the right trees for that land, we commit to looking after the trees along with promoting the land’s biodiversity and we do this on a credible, long-term basis for the benefits of generations to come. We only plant in the UK which many of our clients wish for and particularly like that we offer digital tracking – meaning that people don’t need to travel miles to ‘wander’ on a Wanderlands site.”
One of the team’s “key workers”
MENDIP TIMES • MARCH 2021 • PAGE 7
