This week we sent a group of nine employees to plant trees in the local area as part of our alliance with the Manchester City of Trees.

The timing is significant as it comes hot on the heels of a global movement known as ‘School Strike For Climate‘ which took place on Friday September 20th.

Swedish schoolgirl, Greta Thunberg, sparked the fight for action and only last weekend more than four million people took to the streets in cities around the world to march against climate change, showing the status quo would no longer be accepted.

In Germany alone there were 1.4million participants in the climate strikes, Australia had 300,000 protestors, here in the UK 300,000 people marched, while 250,000 activists took to the streets in New York.

Back in August, reports began to filter through from Brazil that the Amazon Rainforest was on fire and while the root cause is believed to be illegal logging, the fact remains that the lungs of our planet are turning to ash and continue to burn today.

And so it was only fitting that this week we do our own bit for the environment as we get back out there and become fully involved with the Manchester City of Trees project.

A report from the Committee on Climate Change (CCC), stated that there needs to be a significant rise in the number of trees planted in the case that carbon emission reductions are not met.

The CCC has recommended that 30,000 hectares of woodland should be planted each year which is more than double the amount of last year, and this may have to increase all the more – to 50,000 hectares if carbon targets are not achieved.

This is why our involvement with the Manchester City of Trees is so important and is part of a wider project to reach the government set target of being carbon-free by 2050.

The UK has not seen 30,000 hectares of trees planted in a single year since 1989 – in fact, over the years, the numbers of trees planted has dramatically reduced.

It is a huge task to cut all greenhouses gas emissions by 2050 but every little helps and the mammoth task will be made easier.

Our very own Sarah McWhirter was one of our volunteers “It was hard work but rewarding to give back to the community as well as contribute to a greener earth”.

Click here for further information about the Manchester City of Trees project.