Planting the Seeds for a Greener Future: Celebrating Sustainability Week

To celebrate Sustainability Week, we took a significant step towards a greener future by launching a tree-planting initiative with students from LVS Ascot. This event marked the beginning of an ambitious project to create a sustainable woodland, reinforcing our commitment to environmental stewardship. By planting trees, we are not only enhancing biodiversity but also taking action to offset carbon emissions for future generations

The Short Family wants to create a legacy on their land by creating a sustainable woodland that will be enjoyed for many years to come. Planners Farm and Jade Farm have both been in the family for over 40 years. It was decided last year to put around 10%, which is around 5 hectares (just over 12 acres), of the farmland across both farms into creating a woodland and helping offset our carbon emissions.

By creating a woodland, you create massive biodiversity gains and the opportunity to lock in carbon for future generations. We estimate that by the time our woodland has matured, which will take up to 80 years, we will offset 2,000 tonnes of carbon.

We invited school children from LVS Ascot to kick-start our planting. Across the week, we saw 150 pupils from Reception through to Year 6 plant over 50 trees. They planted an array of native trees, including English Oak, Hornbeam, Wild Cherry, and Small-Leaved Lime Trees. The children were very enthusiastic about their role in starting this historical moment of creating this woodland and learned all about the wildlife and biodiversity it will sustain.

Further planting will continue this spring and next winter across the farms. We will be planting trees that can withstand warmer temperatures due to global warming, such as Sessile Oak, Hornbeam, Sweet Chestnut, Small-Leaved Lime, and Wild Service trees. We will also be planting some non-native trees to add some diversity into the mix, such as Tulip Trees and London Planes. These trees will hopefully withstand a warmer and wetter climate.

The other species of trees are native to England and will offer habitats, food, and foraging opportunities for woodland creatures. They are English Oak, Field Maple, Hazel, Beech, Crab Apple, Wild Pear, Yew, Guelder Rose, and Scots Pine trees.

Jordan Short, a third-generation member of the family business, says: ​“We won’t see the benefits of this woodland creation today, but it will be for my children and my children’s children, and that’s a wonderful thing to think about.” She continues: ​“Giving school children that insight and knowledge will hopefully spark an interest in their generation to help our planet as best they can and protect the trees we have already.”

As a family and business, we are committed to being as sustainable and environmentally friendly as possible, as we know that the very nature of running our business can have a negative impact on our environment. Further to the tree planting, we will be reinstating hedgerows and planting new ones where parcels of land lend themselves to that. We have also finished installing the next phase of our solar panels at Planners, which will help offset some of our carbon emissions.

This is only the beginning of our sustainability journey, and we are excited to keep you posted on our progress. From tree planting to habitat restoration, we are committed to making a lasting impact on our environment — one step at a time. Stay tuned for more updates as our woodland takes root and grows into a thriving ecosystem for generations to come!