Bruntwood creates new community woodland alongside local schoolchildren

Working alongside Primary school pupils, Bruntwood employees and customers dug deep to help over 500 new trees take root.

Bruntwood and their customers took part in a mass tree planting session on green space off Princess Parkway, Manchester as part of the City of Trees movement on Wednesday 26 April.

They were joined by pupils from local schools including Button Lane Primary School where children from Years 3 - 5, aged 7 - 10 helped sow the new seedlings.

Bruntwood, the family-owned and run property company which provides office and retail spaces, teamed up with City of Trees to plant a tree for each of their customers in Greater Manchester.

This is the second year running Bruntwood has held an event on the site with over 750 trees being planted overall, creating a new community woodland.

Kate Vokes, Director of Culture at Bruntwood said “As a business we’re passionate about creating sustainable cities that enhance the wellbeing of our communities.

“We’re really proud to have created brand new woodland which future generations, who joined us in the planting, will benefit from”.

Kevin Wigley from the City of Trees team comments “Trees are an essential part of the future of our cities and towns, and deliver a whole range of benefits”.

“Bruntwood has created an amazing lasting legacy which will not only be an asset to the local community, but benefits the city region as a whole by increasing our resilience to climate change”.

Carole Marrett, teacher from Button Lane Primary adds; “This has been a fantastic opportunity for the children. As well as working together as a team - developing new skills - the children have also learned about different trees in an urban setting and the benefits they have on the environment.”

Chris Gregory, facilities manager with ANS group who took part in the planting added: “At ANS we are wholeheartedly committed to supporting environmental initiatives and this was a fantastic opportunity for us to work alongside Bruntwood and City of Trees to help develop new woodland which will be enjoyed by many future generations.

“We look forward to strengthening our relationship with City of Trees and plan to get involved in the charities’ future projects.”

Back in December Bruntwood made a commitment to plant a tree for each of their Greater Manchester customers as a Christmas gift, alongside City of Trees, which aims to plant 3 million trees - one for every man, woman and child in Greater Manchester over the next generation.

At the event over 500 trees were planted including birch, field maple, hawthorn, hazel, oak, and wild cherry.
Two local primary schools took part in the planting – Button Lane and Barlow Hall - with over 100 pupils having the opportunity to plant their very own tree.