Going Green

A thousand trees have been planted in a Cumbrian forest to help offset the carbon emissions of holidaymakers from the area.
The green initiative is the brainchild of the team at Cockermouth Travel.

They have planted the English hardwood trees at Marron Leys Woodland, Lamplugh, to help cover the impact of their clients travel throughout the UK and overseas.

The amount of CO2 a new tree will offset depends on many factors, such as the type of tree, where it is planted and the amount of room it has to grow. However, on average, one broad leaf tree will absorb around a tonne of carbon dioxide during a life-time of 100 years. In addition, the trees being planted will create new habitat for birds, mammals and insects.

Tony Cunningham, MP for Allerdale, and Jamie Reed, MP for Copeland, attended a ceremony to mark the tree planting on the 16th July. Joined by Steve Milledge, Assistant Headteacher from Cockermouth School and Anne Francis, Headteacher from Lamplugh CE School and their pupils, along with Paul Cusack and Jackie Windridge from Cockermouth Travel.

Paul said: "Some of our clients expressed their concern about the impact their holiday, leisure and business travel can have on the environment.
We took their comments on board and wanted to play our part by doing something good for the environment and launching this tree planting scheme. A thousand trees have been planted this year in Marron Forest, but we realise this is only a token gesture so we plan to repeat the initiative.
We wanted to make sure we reduced our own carbon footprint so made some changes to the building as the renovations took place. There is now fitted insulation in all floors, walls and ceilings. We have also installed underfloor heating which is more efficient than traditional radiators, and all 52 lights on the premises now operate on low voltage. If every business in the UK made similar efforts it would make a huge difference in reducing the nation’s carbon emissions."