Telford industrial estate gains 200 trees thanks to Viessmann employee

Effort by Viessmann employee to improve local biodiversity becomes part of Queen’s Green Canopy initiative in honour of Her Majesty the Queen’s Jubilee in 2022

Telford, UK – Viessmann employee, Vikki Robbins from Lawley Village, Telford, has led an initiative that saw 200 trees planted at the company’s Hortonwood Industrial Estate headquarters last weekend (November 28th 2021). Robbins, a contract support and promotions supervisor at Viessmann, was inspired by the work of national Shropshire-based charity Small Woods Association and a desire to remember a former colleague who died suddenly in 2020.

The initial plan was to plant just one tree, with Vikki offering to bring her spade if Viessmann could provide the land and buy the tree. The result was a Sunday spent planting 200 trees supplied and supervised by social enterprise, Telford Woods, and the Friends of Ketley Paddock Mound, together with fellow Viessmann colleagues and their friends and families.

A remembrance plaque dedicated to David Hughes, an engineer at Viessmann, has also been installed next to the trees. David’s wife, Janet Hughes, has said she and her girls are honoured and grateful that he is being remembered in this way.

Thanks to a recommendation from Councillor for Telford & Wrekin Council, Carolyn Healy – who is also the Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Green Spaces, Natural and Historic Environment – the new woodland has been included in the Queen’s Green Canopy tree planting initiative created to mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022.

Vikki Robbins, who is a member of RSPB and a “little picker” volunteer for Telford and Wrekin’s Street Champions, explained her motivation: “Thousands of new homes are being developed in my village and as a keen dog walker, I see first-hand the vast destruction of trees and reduction in wildlife habitat going on to make way for them. I wanted to play a small role in replacing some of them here and encouraging others to plant more trees wherever they can.”

Graham Russell, managing director of Viessmann in the UK, said, “Viessmann is a family-owned business with a strong heritage in looking after the environment. With our low carbon and renewable heating products, we are on the frontline of reducing emissions from the heating of buildings and it’s great to be able to make a contribution to the planet on a very local level by working together with Telford Woods and Small Woods.

“We were very saddened by the loss of a member of our Viessmann family, David Hughes, last year. David’s wife and children and our team here, will hopefully be comforted by remembering him here in an environment that will thrive with wildlife for years to come,” concluded Graham Russell.

Councillor Carolyn Healy said, “It’s great to see companies connecting their industrial grounds with local green spaces in a sustainable and secure way. We’re proud to be putting Telford on the Queen’s Green Canopy map today with 200 trees added to what we hope will become a national dedication to Her Majesty that depends on our actions at a grass roots level.” She added “You can even apply for free trees for your school or community from the Woodland Trust.”

Small Woods is a national charity based in Shropshire, striving for woods alive with people, wildlife and work. Telford Woods Project Officer, Tristan Haynes said, “It is fantastic to watch Viessmann take such positive steps to enhancing the natural environment and consider its environmental impact. We have put in a good mix of trees here, including oak, beech, wild cherry, crab apple and horse chestnuts, to provide nuts and berries for birds and small mammals.”

Viessmann runs its own corporate global initiative #ViMoveForClimate that encourages people to do something for their health and the environment by planting a tree for every kilometer of exercise activity logged on the company’s intranet app. To date, employees have enabled the planting of 1 million trees. 

About the Queen’s Green Canopy

The Queen’s Green Canopy (QGC) is a unique tree planting initiative created to mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022 which invites people from across the United Kingdom to “Plant a Tree for the Jubilee”.

Everyone from individuals to Scout and Girlguiding groups, villages, cities, counties, schools and corporates will be encouraged to play their part to enhance our environment by planting trees during the official planting season between October to March. Tree planting will commence again in October 2022, through to the end of the Jubilee year.

https://queensgreencanopy.org/

About Small Woods Charity

Small Woods Association are a national charity based in Shropshire, striving for woods alive with people wildlife and work. Working with woodland owners, managers and enthusiasts to promote the better management of woodland for the many positive benefits that it can bring to wildlife, biodiversity, carbon sequestration, sustainability and to health.

The organisation also delivers many social forestry projects which aim to assist vulnerable individuals engage with woodland for the positive physical and emotional health and wellbeing benefits it can provide. We have recently delivered a number of exciting projects in Telford. Our ‘Women in the Woods’ project was funded through the Tampon Tax and worked with women who had experienced difficult circumstances in their lives such as mental illness or domestic violence, helping them to build resilience and enhance their self-confidence and self-esteem through undertaking woodland management tasks and holistic craft activities.

Recent funding from the Armed Forces Covenant has enabled the organisation to help veterans leaving service to find a positive pathway to civilian life, working to manage woodland and learn more about employment in the woodland sector.

https://www.smallwoods.org.uk/

About Telford Woods social enterprise

Telford Woods is a social enterprise formed in partnership with Telford and Wrekin Council and Small Woods. Activities include weekly community conservation volunteer sessions, woodland management training (Boost for Biodiversity programme funded by Seven Trent), work with a local special school to develop an accessible woodland learning area and Council holiday club family woodcraft activities. Telford Woods works with a wide range of partners, including Shropshire Wildlife Trust and the Telford Green Spaces Partnership, as well as corporate volunteers.

https://www.smallwoods.org.uk/en/what-we-do/projects/telford-woods-2/

About Woodland Trust

The Woodland Trust is the UK’s leading woodland conservation charity. They want to see a UK rich in native woods and trees, for people and wildlife. The Trust aims to engage and inspire people about woods and trees to help us meet our vision of creating, restoring and protecting woodland. They want to make sure everybody in the UK has the chance to plant a tree. So are giving away hundreds of thousands of trees to schools and communities.

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/plant-trees/schools-and-communities/

About Viessmann

We are Viessmann, a family business. Founded in 1917 as a heating technology manufacturer, today we are the world's leading provider of sustainable climate (heating, cooling and air quality) and renewable energy solutions.

Our integrated solution offering connects products and systems via digital platforms and services, creating an individualised feel-good climate for our users. All our activities are driven by the corporate mission statement, "We create living spaces for generations to come". This is the responsibility that we, the 12,700 members of the Viessmann family, take on every day together with our trade partners.

https://www.viessmann.family/en

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Propel Technology
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