Tree planting at Skern Lodge for greener spaces

Planting trees for greener spaces

Numbers are in! And we are delighted to report that the Skern Lodge team have now planted over 500 trees since re-opening after the pandemic shutdown. Adding to a staggering 3,150 trees planted by fellow private landowners across Devon, who like us, took part in the Emergency Tree Fund appeal.

We planted 45 British native broadleaf trees at Skern Lodge during #NationalTreeWeek back in December. Each tree will slowly sequester carbon as they grow, with 1 tonne of CO2 offset for every 6 trees. The average yearly carbon footprint per person in the UK is a little over 12 tonnes, which means each row of 6 trees planted offsets 1 month of our personal emissions.

Our trees were gratefully received as part of Devon’s Emergency Tree Fund.

Where it all started

After receiving funding from The Woodland Trust, we were eager to get involved in helping Devon Council build-on depleting green space and support environmental sustainability. To start our mutual planting mission, we received our free pack of 45 British native broadleaf whips - wonderful trees that will not only boost biodiversity at our centre, but mitigate groundwater flooding, as well as offer carbon sequestration for the years to come. Already maturing, these trees look magnificent on our grounds. Along with other private landowners, we are already on target to plant a total of 6,750trees together this planting season across Devon.

The importance of green space

Having greener spaces also has a huge impact on health and wellbeing. A recent report by the British Medical Council states that access to local green spaces increases the probability that individuals will achieve the recommended physical activity guidelines by over four times* We are so proud to welcome back many returning schools and groups to Skern Lodge year on year, and it’s wonderful to know that Skern Lodge is a little bit greener every time they visit.

To illustrate the impact of nature and green space further, in 2017, the UK government published their 25-year environment plan which emphasised the importance of helping people improve their health and wellbeing by using green space. *

Creating a sustainable future

Further to our tree planting efforts, we do a lot of pledge work with the North Devon Biosphere. Having a green centre that is sustainable and reduces our carbon footprint, is hugely important to us and contributes to our mission of being a completely responsible organisation. We were the first to achieve Star Business status in July 2021 and accepted the Nature Business Award during March 2022.

Find out more about Devon’s Emergency Tree Fund, here and Skern Lodge’s inspiring outdoor adventures, here

* British Medical Council Public Health, 16:420, doi:10.1186/s12889-016-3050-9
* Health and Wellbeing in an Outdoor and Adventure Sport Context, Dr John Allan et al, MDPI, 2019