£1,000 landmark reached in Bags for Trees scheme
Press Release 19th April 2010
Contact: Jane Beaton. 01320 340242; marketing@treesforlife.org.uk
An innovative bags for trees scheme run by Phoenix Community Stores in the famous Findhorn Ecovillage, Findhorn Bay, Moray has hit the £1,000 mark for conservation charity Trees for Life.
 Collin Chamberlain (left), Managing Director of Phoenix Community Stores, and Alan Watson Featherstone (right), Trees for Life Executive Director, with the special cans in which the donations are collected, outside Phoenix Community Stores, Findhorn.  Alan and Collin inside the Phoenix shop itself, with collection cans and a banner photo of Scots pines in the Caledonian Forest, which the shop’s support will enable us to regenerate more fully. |
The landmark figure was raised by customers to the community shop who make a donation to Trees for Life in a collecting tin each time they use a plastic bag from the shop rather than bringing their own.
The scheme aims to reduce plastic bag use and raise money for the restoration of the Caledonian Forest in the Scottish Highlands. Following decades of deforestation, only one per cent of the forest currently survives.
Collin Chamberlain, Managing Director of Phoenix Community Stores, said: “It’s a simple but positive idea, and it’s wonderful to know that we are helping to restore Scotland’s equivalent of a rainforest. Our customers have been hugely supportive and we usually raise about £50 a month.
”The scheme has now been running for around 18 months. As we are a community-owned business, we wanted to support a local cause. Trees for Life was an obvious choice – it does great work, its staff members shop here and we provide food and drinks for its conservation volunteer weeks, which allow people to take part in direct reforestation work.”
Alan Watson Featherstone, Trees for Life Executive Director, said: “We are tremendously grateful to Phoenix Community Stores, and to local people for supporting the scheme. Not only does it generate important funds for us, but it also increases awareness of our work to restore this vital part of Scotland’s woodland heritage.
“Initiatives like this make a big difference to us. Every £5 raised allows us to plant a tree, while every £50 enables us to restore 50 square metres of native woodland, so £1,000 is a fantastic boost.”
People can support Trees for Life’s award-winning restoration of the Caledonian Forest by funding specially-dedicated trees and Groves, or by joining its acclaimed Conservation Holidays. For more information, see www.treesforlife.org.uk or call 0845 458 3505.
Phoenix Community Stores includes an award-winning food store, a full service apothecary and bookstore, and also sells crafts, gifts and music. It is based at The Park, Findhorn. For more information, visit www.phoenixshop.co.uk or call 01309 690110.
Ends
Notes to editors
- Trees for Life aims to restore the Caledonian Forest to an area of 1,500 square kilometres in the Scottish Highlands west of Inverness.
- Since planting its first trees in 1991 in Glen Affric, Trees for Life has planted over 820,000 trees.
Its awards include 1991 UK Conservation Project of the Year, the Millennium Marque in 2000
and Top 10 Conservation Holidays worldwide in 2009. - Trees for Life is a partner in the world-wide celebrations of 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity. The diversity of life on Earth is crucial for human well-being and now is the time to
act to preserve it. For information on events, initiatives and exhibitions across the UK visit
www.biodiversityislife.net
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