As we approach the end of winter, we see signs of spring as the snowdrops start peeking through and the days get a little longer. The cold winter means minimal maintenance is needed for tree saplings because they remain dormant during the cold weather. As we move into spring, the root becomes established and the saplings make most of the warmer weather as it comes through.
In support of our February Eco Mission, “Plant a tree with YDMT”, a team of us (Mark Coldham, Leigh Adams, Paul Caine, and Imani Caine) visited Yorkshire to help our partnered charity Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust (YDMT) plant an entire woodland.
Leigh, Paul, Imani and I took advantage of our analytics, project management, and eco-ambassador knowledge and skillsets to plan the most efficient and eco-friendly journey to Weathercote. To further reduce our carbon footprint, we decided to make our journey in Paul’s electric car!
1100 Reasons
As we wound our way to Scar Top, the scenery got more picturesque as we got deeper into the countryside. Our destination led us to Alan’s and Michelle’s house, who wanted to turn the piece of land next to their home into an 1100-broad-leaf tree woodland. Since YDMT support woodland schemes, where landowners will reach out asking for them to plant trees or bushes, YDMT and our little band of volunteers were called.
The Illuminet team immediately set to on the task, and between the four of us planted well over a hundred trees. It really felt like we’d made a difference to this valley that will be seen for generations to come.
Why Trees?
As part of our 10th year anniversary, we created our Treevolution Initiative by partnering with Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust. Our primary objective was to reduce the pace of global warming and improve the environment around us. We chose YDMT because despite being a fairly small charity, they are known for doing big things in the Yorkshire Dales.
Trees are critical to our ecosystem and creating the balance of composition in our air. Humans keep producing more and more carbon dioxide (CO2), which sits like a blanket over the earth, gently warming it up. The trees are the perfect filter for this, not only converting CO2 into oxygen for us to breathe, but also absorbing many of the harmful pollutants in the process. Tree cover supports a diverse ecosystem of wildlife and birds, as well as providing protection from flooding by both absorbing the surface water and creating wide root bases that firm up the ground and protect it from erosion.
Why Illuminet's Eco Mission Really Matters!
We have seen a huge decline in woodlands across the globe due to deforestation. Which is why Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust are now more than ever providing schemes from tree-planting to educating others on the importance of trees. They have a vision to create 6,000 hectares of woodland in the
Yorkshire Dales by 2040.
This is why Illuminet’s eco mission is driving a huge amount of change in the region. Having planted 12,020 trees globally already, and showing no sign of slowing down, we will continue to plant as many trees as we can through consulting work and talent resourcing. Our mission this year? Be bigger, better and greener. We will also continue to send volunteers to YDMT each year to learn the benefits of the trees and roll up our sleeves to plant trees and continue to fight carbon emissions one tree at a time!
Are you MaDD?
We challenge you to make a difference! To support Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust further, we are holding our annual Make a Difference Day, where we do a power hour picking up litter. Our aim is to pick up 10,000 pieces if litter, raise £10,000 for YDMT, which will help plant another 1,000 trees. Please support us in our goal for £1 per piece of litter we pick up through our JustGiving page.
