Partnerships
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Discover how we can help you achieve your sustainability aims.
Bettys & Taylors Group
This partnership is stirring up nature-based solutions in the Yorkshire Dales.
So, 561 hectares I did know how many football pitches that was but I've forgotten - it's a lot. Effectively everything from these trees all the way around, all the valley that you can see ahead of you, and there's a bit more of a bowl hidden behind them trees in this mound and it comes all the way around up against these trees, these Conifer trees. This year they'll be planting these areas which you've made a good start on and then this area up to this deep gully. It'll be mixed so we're not going for wall to wall trees that you might associate with conifer and productive forestry. Hopefully it'll be very scattered, very patchy, but the majority of them will be broadleaf wood trees as well. In the valley bottom we've got about 78 or 80 hectares which again is quite a lot of ground that we won't be planting generally and that would be grazed by native breed cattle. So there are wading birds in the valley. The valley bottom is where they like to be - in the wetter areas - so we'll bring native breed in, they should be better than the sheep to maintain the ground for them and also they won't eat their eggs. So we've worked with the Woodland Trust for many years on lots of different projects before this. So we've been involved in funding Community Tree packs and we've also done some planting and restoration work in our local area both in the Yorkshire Dales and at Nidd Gorge just down the road from us. So we kind of felt like we were ready for the next step and what was coming next and the Woodland Trust managed to acquire the Snaizeholme site which was just sort of like a dream location for us really, and something we're just so excited to be involved in.
It's just a fantastic opportunity here up in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales and the fact that we've got The Betty's and Taylors Group here working with us just gives us a chance to do sort of more of these projects, and to do them at scale. I mean this is huge this project, it's over a thousand acres. We just wouldn't be able to do it without our corporate partners so the fact we've got Bettys and Taylors Group on board it's just fantastic. It's great for their corporate and social responsibility, we can showcase the site to them today, and it also gives them a chance to spread that message with their customers as well and it helps to raise the brand of the Woodland Trust, so overall it's just a a win-win and a great partnership for us.
Get one more on? I'll have this one then. I'll have this one. [Laughter] Tea time!
This presented a really great opportunity to be able to get involved, get hands on and get some trees in the ground that hopefully over the course of sort of the next 20 years will start to store carbon that can then contribute to offset our carbon footprint that we've generated at our site in Yorkshire back here in the Yorkshire Dales. It's not just about putting trees in the ground it's having the right tree in the ground in the right place and the fact that there's going to be so many additional benefits.
So, in terms of the biodiversity you know there's the red squirrels next door giving them a place to expand into, so many other different rare species of birds that are around, and then also the benefits to the local communities here in the Dales and then further downstream. Yeah we've basically got control of the whole catchment here pretty much, so we've got great opportunities not tree planting on its own will slow the flow of water improve water quality downstream as well as sort of spreading out that lag time to allow water to dissipate downstream slower.
We've all seen in York over the last couple of years how bad that's got. You know, lots of our staff live in York, lots of our customers live in York and obviously we have Betty's cafes there as well so it'll be great to see the impact on sort of the flood risk from planting up in here as well. So yeah I think it's just there's everything going on for it, carbon obviously is a great thing but there's just so much else that is to be achieved from sort of looking at nature in a holistic sense.
So, I can't wait to see what it'll be like as time goes on and the trees get in the ground and they start to flourish.
Bettys & Taylors Group, the home of Bettys, Yorkshire Tea and Taylors of Harrogate coffee, is partnering with us over five years at one of our flagship woodland creation and habitat restoration projects at Snaizeholme in the Yorkshire Dales.
Together we're working on nature-based solutions to reduce the group’s carbon emissions through our Woodland Carbon scheme.
It’s a vision worth drinking in. A treeless landscape near the Ribblehead viaduct, about 20 miles north of Settle, will transform into a vibrant mosaic of habitats – a mixture of native broadleaved trees, riverside planting and pasture, wooded valley sides, peat bogs and limestone pavement.
Reforesting the north of England
Snaizeholme is a unique and complex habitat restoration and nature recovery project. This 1,400-acre site near Hawes is one of the boldest habitat restoration projects in the English uplands, increasing ecological connectivity, supporting the local population of red squirrels and improving water quality across the many watercourses, as well as slowing the flow in periods of flooding.
Bettys & Taylors' five-year commitment includes planting up to 50,000 trees across the site that will sequester carbon as they grow, with the capacity to absorb up to 11,625 tonnes of carbon dioxide. Planted in mixed densities across an area covering almost 32 hectares, they'll become open woodland glades and provide shelter, food and nectar sources for wildlife, as well as create more wildlife-rich habitats of open woodland areas and denser groves where woodland specialist plants will thrive.
As a family business that relies on agriculture for much of our produce, we have a long commitment to protecting our environment. This unique project at Snaizeholme will not only increase native woodland, which in turn helps to combat climate change, but the project will also protect local habitats and wildlife, and support with flood mitigation in the surrounding area.
Sustainable Development Specialist, Taylors
Slowing the flow
A staggering 21 streams run down the over-grazed slopes into Snaizeholme Beck, and in periods of heavy rainfall, the headlong rush of water poses a flood risk not just in the immediate area but also in towns and cities downriver.
So our partnership with Bettys & Taylors Group means so much more with the additional benefits that tree planting and peat restoration can deliver to help flood mitigation in the area. Not only will it help manage water flow through river tributaries as far as York, it will also limit flooding along the River Ouse – and reduce the impact on local communities, including Bettys & Taylors Group businesses, their colleagues and customers.
Creating a blend of habitats for threatened wildlife
The limestone pavements sitting above the peat bogs are home to ground nesting birds such as golden plover and are used by black grouse during breeding displays. The dry-stone walls that criss-cross the estate are perfect for harbouring small mammals and common lizards. We’ll maintain and restore the landscape's character, providing corridors and habitat for wildlife to thrive.
Snaizeholme offers a chance for us to boost biodiversity at a time when the natural world is in crisis. Trees will improve the water quality of the river and beck, and crucially, help with flood mitigation. It’s great to see Bettys & Taylors Group invest in nature-based solutions here in the UK. Together we're making a real difference for trees, wildlife and people in the Yorkshire Dales.
Head of Partnerships, Woodland Trust
