National Tree Week Volunteering Campaign

Environmental Volunteering: Axis Supports National Tree Week 2024

National Tree Week 2024 (23rd November – 1st December) was a huge success last year, with Axis volunteers contributing 112 hours to tree planting initiatives!

Axis’ Linu Eldho, Sustainability Coordinator, said ‘At Axis, we understand the critical importance of planting trees to support a sustainable future. This National Tree Week, we proudly contributed to the planting of over 1,000 trees, an effort that not only enriches the environment but also strengthens our communities. Through partnerships with charities and encouraging our team members to use their volunteering days for tree planting, we are taking meaningful steps toward positive change. Additionally, we continue to plant a tree for every employee through Ecologi to celebrate their one-year service milestone’.

Cudham Tree Planting

On Wednesday 25th November, Axis teamed up with L&Q to volunteer with the Woodlands Restoration Project at Cudham Environmental Activities Centre.

We were fortunate enough to be introduced to the centre and what they do through the Axis Foundation’s work with Free to be Kids – you can find out more about that here!

After donating and installing a brand new weather-proof, insulated, and secure storage shipping container at the centre, Axis was asked to help restore the centre’s green space. The centre’s woodland was unfortunately destroyed due to Ash back disease, with 100s of trees being removed and the space left bare. Our volunteers were asked to donate their time, as well as equipment and resources, to re-plant the trees and bring the woodland back to life!

Tayla Hayes said ‘It was a great day of hard work, to see how many trees we had planted and the area that was once bare to be completely filled with potential trees was amazing! The biggest reward was the faces of the staff at the facilities as they looked over the moon with the end results.’

Adam Whitbread added ‘I found the day to be rewarding in the sense we were future proofing the centres woodland area, not only for the environment and wildlife but for the numerous children who use the centre. I was a great opportunity for us to bond with our partnering client L&Q also. I would recommend this to anyone who has the opportunity to do so!’

The day had a great turnout with 11 Axis volunteers and 10 L&Q volunteers planting 350 trees ranging across 9 different species.

Our team was comprised of:

1. Adam Whitbread, Divisional Manager

2. Ben Ibrahim, Divisional Director

3. Tayla Hayes, Site Supervisor

4. Lloyd Quigley, Contract Manager

5. Leslie Crabbe, Senior Quantity Surveyor

6. Dan Mooney, Commercial Manager

7. Barnaby Havercroft, Divisional Commercial Manager

8. David Leonard, Apprentice Mentor

9. Linu Eldho, Sustainability Coordinator

10. Vera O’Driscoll, Social Value Manager

11. Santana Joao, Videographer

You can check out the video here.

Thames Chase Tree Planting

On 3rd December, 4 Axis volunteers joined NTW celebrations by taking part in tree planting at Thames Chase Community Forest in Havering.

The Thames Chase Trust advocates for Community Forest delivery with tree planting events and volunteering opportunities as part of their long-term plan. They focus on the impacts Community Forestry can have on green infrastructure, climate change, public health, localism, and economic growth.

Our volunteers had the opportunity to engage with tree planting to support one of Thames Chases’ Community Forests – the team was comprised of:

– Tyler Sansom , Contract Manager

– Cristian Bagacian, Site Supervisor

– Marius Mihai, Supervisor

– Joshua Berry, Site Supervisor

About the planting, Tyler said ‘Myself and the team where keen to do the tree planting again as we did this last year, it was great to get out with the teams / volunteers that do this work on a daily basis. It was great giving back to the community but also helping the environment at the same time’.

Cristian added, ‘It was a fantastic day at Thames Chase for National Tree Week. The tree planting event was a great success from my point of view, and it was wonderful to see so many people of all ages coming together to make a positive impact on the environment and I think everyone left feeling proud of what we achieved. I’d definitely recommend participating in future tree planting events to anyone looking to get involved, whether it’s to contribute to the local ecosystem or just to spend some time outdoors with colleagues. Hopefully, over the years, I’ll be able to take my kids and see the results of that day.’

Well done to all of our wonderful volunteers for getting involved and thank you to Linu and Vera for organising such amazing and impactful volunteering!

If you would like to get involved in similar events, please reach out to vera.odriscoll@axiseurope.com to use your volunteering day.