Trees have always been proper important to us

For over three decades, Bettys & Taylors has been committed to planting trees, starting back in 1990 when we made our pledge to plant one million trees — since then we have planted 7.7 million trees in total, across the UK and in countries we source tea and coffee from to restore land and give back to local communities.

In 2007 we planted our 3 millionth tree in the UK and in 2009 we helped protect an area of the Amazon rainforest in Peru, the same size as the Yorkshire Dales. More recently, starting in 2015 as part of our journey to becoming CarbonNeutral® we committed to planting more trees, this time in Kenya with TIST, The International Small Group & Tree Planting Program and in the UK with the Woodland Trust.

Snaizeholme with the Woodland Trust

We’ve always worked closely with the Woodland Trust and last year we learned of an opportunity to partner with them once again, this time on a specific local project in the Yorkshire Dales. The project is called Snaizeholme and it’s situated close to Hawes, North Yorkshire. Many centuries ago, woodland would have stretched across this landscape but now the 1,387 acre site is almost devoid of trees The Trust aims to create about 719 acres of new native woodland which will make it one of England’s largest native woodland creation sites.

How trees help

You’ll probably have heard about tree planting in relation to reducing the impacts of climate change and that’s because trees sequester or hold carbon in the environment as well as helping to improve water quality and mitigate the impacts of flooding. It’s important, we find the right places to plant more trees or restore areas that were once abundant with trees and wildlife. Tree planting isn’t simple, it must be done at the correct time of year and the types of trees need to be right for the location, environment, and the wildlife. It also takes time for trees to grow and contribute to reducing carbon, around 20 years in the UK. 

The next five years

The project itself is unique and an exciting thing to be a part of with lots of amazing opportunities in the reforestation work to support and restore the natural wildlife of this area. Snaizeholme has an array of bird life from oystercatchers, snipes and lapwings to peregrines, barn owls and even hen harriers, which are now exceptionally rare in the UK. Bringing this land back to life through careful restoration will help provide a safe and natural habitat for these birds and many other animals.

The Woodland Trust aims to plant almost 291 hectares (719 acres) with native tree saplings, once mature, the site could sequester up to 59,000 tonnes CO2. Our involvement will eventually enable us to offset the emissions from our Yorkshire operations, around 11,625 tonnes CO2 through 50,000 trees, which we’re pretty proud of. We are excited to be a part of this project and this work will contribute towards our future ambitions to be Net Zero. Like any climate mitigation work, it takes time and when we have updates, we will share our progress with you.