Planting Trees at Snakehall Farm

On Monday 11th February we visited the Prospects Trust at Snakehall Farm in Reach to plant trees as part of ourInstall and Grow scheme.

After a dark, rainy and miserable weekend Sam, Pierre, Laurence, Jess and Tom, our French intern, all arrived at Snakehall Farm greeted by warm sunshine on a frosty morning, a glorious day to plant some trees.

After being welcomed to the farm by Mark Cornell (Garden Team Manager) and his team at the Prospects Trust, we enjoyed a nice cup of coffee whilst we watched a short video about the farm. It had been over a year since our last visit with the Art of Clean team and so much had changed. New polythene tunnels for growing vegetables had been erected, more paths had been built for wheelchair access and an array of raised beds for growing smaller plants had been installed.

Neil from the Prospects Trust and our team loaded up the trailer with our spades and headed on down to the lower field on the back of the tractor to plant 105 wips and 2 larger trees we had donated. We measured out the area where we would be planting the trees and started to plant our wips of assorted species. Although most of the floors we sell are made from Oak, the trees we donated are a mixture of species such as Blackthorn, Crab Apple, Hawthorn and Rowan to match natural surroundings and meet the farms requirements.

The original idea for planting trees at the Prospects Trust was not only for us to give back to the environment but based around an idea to help create a rest bite retreat for the co workers if they ever need it. The Prospects Trust Posh Pods plan has unfortunately been put on hold but they have moved on and decided to use the area for forestry activities.

We were then joined by Adam and Jamie from the Prospects Trust to help us plant more trees as the 105 wips we had seemed more like 205… with their help we would easily get all of them planted. Each wip was planted and then supported by bamboo cane and wrapped in a plastic wrap to protect it from being eaten by the local wildlife.

After planting the wips, we planted 2 larger trees in the same area we had planted trees the previous year. Although over a year had passed, the wips from the previous year had bareley grown. This shows just how important it is to continue planning trees as they are not replaced quickly.

After a good morning, we had to get back to work to provide our customers with the great service they expect from us. We packed up our tools and Sam even got to drive the Tractor back! Since starting the company in June 2017 we have now planted 212 trees at Snakehall Farm, the home of Prospect Trust. Our aim is to continue to plant trees for every bespoke wooden floor we sell as this is our way to give back to the environment and support our local community.