13 May Tree planting helps Tesco in Romford connect with nature
Environmental charity Thames Chase Trust has been helping the Tesco Extra store in Romford connect with nature through tree-planting.
Swedish Whitebeam trees, specially selected because of their high tolerance to urban conditions, were planted in the car park at Tesco Gallows Corner to help offset emissions from cars on site.
The Thames Chase Trust received £12,000 five years ago as part of the Tesco Community Grant Scheme, which helped set up the Community Tree Nursery at the Thames Chase Forest Centre.
The Community Tree Nursery grows a variety of species native to the Thames Chase Community Forest Area, where monthly volunteer groups are now open to the public.
Over the last five years, 2,523 groups across London have had reason to celebrate after receiving grants from the Tesco Community Grant Scheme – which is celebrating its 5th anniversary this year. Since the launch of scheme, run in partnership with community charity Groundwork, £86million in total has been donated to 37,000 projects across the UK.
Despite being originally from Sweden, the trees, which are known for being hardy against exhaust fumes, are naturalised to the United Kingdom, and provide food for wildlife similar to the native Common Whitebeam.
Alongside other native species, the Swedish Whitebeams were grown from seed in the tree nursery and the saplings have now been planted in the car park at Gallows Corner.
Clover Deacon, Community Champion at Tesco Extra Gallows Corner said:
“As a community champion it gives me a great sense of pride to be part of the Tesco Community Grant Scheme. When Tesco launched the Community Grant scheme five years ago, it was exciting to see what amazing work Thames Chase Trust did with their £12,000 grant. When I was invited to their open day, I was proud to see how the project had inspired children to plant seeds and trees. The Tesco Community Grant Scheme has gone from strength to strength, but what makes this special is that the trees that were grown from seed five years ago are now being planted outside our store”.
Mary Wright, acting Co-Chair of the Thames Chase Trust said, “As the representative of Thames Chase Trust who gratefully collected the generous donation raised by Tesco to help kick start the refurbishment of the Tree Nursery, it’s rewarding to return to support the planting of the Swedish Whitebeam propagated in the now flourishing nursery. The tree nursery is run by volunteers and open to local schools, groups and individuals and is a perfect example of how the Trust can work with businesses for the benefit of local communities in line with the aims of the Thames Chase Plan.”
The Tesco Community Grants will support thousands of local community projects and good causes across the UK. The scheme is open to registered charities and not-for-profit organisations, so if you are an eligible organisation then apply for a grant now. If you are a Tesco customer or colleague, you can nominate a cause that you’d like to see supported.
If you would like to work with Thames Chase to help offset carbon emissions or combat pollution please send email [email protected] or call 01708 642970.
To apply for a Tesco Community Grant, visit https://tescocommunitygrants.org.uk/.
