Trees for Reading progress
Contributions to the initiative
A massive thank you to all the businesses and individuals that have donated to Trees for Reading so far.
Generous support from BDB Pitmans LLP
BDB Pitmans made a generous donation in late 2021, which has enabled us to plant six trees:
- two Ginkgo biloba – one in the rewilding area of Henley Road Cemetery and one at Redlands Primary School (shown in the photo)
- two ‘Chanticleer’ ornamental pear trees – one outside Evans Cycles, just opposite BDB Pitmans’ Reading office, and one on Bennet Road
- two river birches at County Lock, behind their office
- a Swedish whitebeam next to the play area at Kensington Road Recreation Ground
There is also an eighth tree, an autumn-flowering cherry, waiting to go in at the school once the early years play area has been revamped.
Managing Partner Andrew Smith commented: “We are delighted to have the opportunity to give back to the local community as part of the Trees for Reading initiative, continuing our mission to ‘build better’ by enhancing the environment and taking steps to support the wellbeing of Reading’s residents. Funding the planting of these trees allows us to play a small part in making the town greener, healthier and happier as well as creating a lasting legacy for the future.”
Read more in BDB Pitmans’ press release.
The Shady Side of Reading tree
In May 2021 local naturalists Adrian Lawson and Geoff Sawers kindly offered to donate the royalties from their Two Rivers Press books, The Shady Side of Town and Rural Reading, to our Trees for Reading initiative.
At their request, this beautiful English walnut was planted at County Lock. A very appropriate way to mark the fifth anniversary of the publication of their book celebrating Reading’s trees.
We can highly recommend the book to anyone who appreciates Reading’s trees and would like to get to know them better!Read more on the Two Rivers Press blog.
Lincoln MGT committed to increasing biodiversity across town
Ethical Reading Partner, Lincoln MGT, the joint venture behind the Station Hill redevelopment project, already has plans to add 135 trees to its 6.5 acre site next to Reading station. This is part of a huge push to increase biodiversity and as well as creating attractive outdoor spaces that people will enjoy spending time in.
However the team wanted to go further, so they approached us about planting trees in less central areas of town that would benefit most from the addition of substantial young trees.
So far this has resulted in 14 trees being planted, ten near schools in Southcote and Tilehurst and four at the busy Whitley Street junction in Katesgrove.
Evan Reynolds, Senior Development Manager, commented: “Station Hill will positively transform Reading and our support for Trees for Reading demonstrates our commitment to making the town a greener, healthier, and happier place to live for both existing and future residents.”
Read more in Rdg Today and the Station Hill newsletter (see Bees & trees form focus of Station Hill’s latest biodiversity initiatives).
The Oracle greening Redlands Primary School
The Oracle has funded two beautiful trees at Redlands Primary School – an Amelanchier lamarckii and a Prunus serrulata ‘Tai-Haku’ (an ornamental cherry). They raised the money through internal initiatives including selling honey from their own onsite beehives to staff and employees of their tenants.
This was a bespoke project, where we worked closely with fellow volunteers from Erleigh Road Community Garden and Friends of Redlands, the school’s PTA, who are collaborating to transform the school grounds.
Head teacher Shabana Aslam told us, “The children were impressed when they came back after the Easter break to see what lovely changes had been made to the school environment. You could hear them talking with excitement about how beautiful the playground was looking.
“Since then I have often seen the children sitting on the planters at playtimes, talking about the changes and admiring the beautiful trees and flowers. A huge thank you to everyone involved – it has made such a difference!”
Collaborative bespoke project at Reading Station
The last of the money donated by Thames Lido funded the trees for our first bespoke project.
Over the course of several months we worked closely with staff from Network Rail and Reading Station alongside Reading Tree Wardens to plan and implement this project, which has helped to transformed the South side of the station.
The tree wardens specified the trees for each section of the site and recommended planting techniques to cope with the multiple challenges it presented. Although this is not council land, Reading Borough Council’s Parks department sourced the trees, so we would benefit from their economies of scale, and kindly agreed to include them in their watering rounds.
Dave Kenny from Reading Tree Wardens supervised the planting, which was carried out by Network Rail contractors.
Chris Gaylard, Environment Manager, Capital Delivery, Wales & Western Environment Specialist at Network Rail, commented: “It has been great to work with Ethical Reading, Reading Tree Wardens and Reading Borough Council to plant trees to green up the station. The trees will help filter pollutants and absorb carbon, provide resting places and food for birds and improve the station passenger experience and public pride in Reading. A true collaboration showcasing multiple benefits.”
Thames Lido leading the way
Our first corporate sponsor was Thames Lido.
They planned to start charging a small fee for the use of their car park, to deter people from taking unfair advantage of it. They didn’t want to profit from it so were looking for a good local cause to donate to. We were thrilled when they contacted us to say they had decided to donate all the takings to Trees for Reading.
Their support has funded the planting and care of seven trees in the 2019-20 planting season and 19 in 2020-21.
We planted the first tree – an Acer freemanii ‘Autumn Blaze’ – in front of the lido, at our launch event in November 2019. The event was covered in The Reading Chronicle and In Your Area.
Unfortunately, as with many businesses in the hospitality industry, the pandemic has hit the lido hard, so they weren’t able to continue donating. However we are extremely grateful to the team there for the amazing start they gave our initiative.
Business community tree-planting fund
A variety of organisations have donated smaller amounts, which are adding up to help us bring more business-funded trees to Reading. Our first jointly funded tree was a weeping beech, planted in Prospect Park in 2021/22.
The businesses involved include…
Dee Caf, Cocolico Pâtisserie, Hartland Fudge and NatWest host Trees for Reading collection boxes. If you know somewhere that might like to host a collection box for us, please let us know.
Sustainable Building Services (UK) Ltd – This eco construction and refurbishment company donated £250 to the fund in November 2023.
Harrison Clark Rickerbys – The Reading branch of this top-60 law firm donated £100 in 2022 to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, as part of a wellbeing initiative.
NatWest – A local team ran a sponsored fancy dress litter pick along the Thames to raise funds for us.
The Castle Tap – This community-oriented pub on Castle Street was the first company to have a dedicated donation page. It was landlady Cara’s idea and a great one!
Organico Realfoods – This local organic food company donated £150 to our fund in June 2021.
TDP Photography – Since 2020, photographer Tina Panting has offered to donate 50p for each Moods of Trees calendar sold to Trees for Reading.
Kat Creative – Copywriter Kathryn McCann, one of our sustainability team volunteers, donated to celebrate Kat Creative’s 20th anniversary – £1 for each year of helping organisations get their message across. She also donated for Christmas 2020.
Craft Box Club – Founder Adam Roe has committed to donating £1 to Trees for Reading for every new subscriber to his eco-friendly craft box scheme.
The Foraging Bee – Botanical jewellery maker Nia donated in the run-up to Christmas 2020, commenting “This is a wonderful initiative, thank you. Keep planting trees and I’ll keep planting wildflower seeds.”
Community tree-planting fund
In February 2020 we also planted a very special tree funded by the local community through a JustGiving campaign. Planted in conjunction with Brighter Futures for Children, it’s there to help children in care feel Rooted in Reading.
The idea came from a 14-year-old boy who had been placed in a permanent foster home outside Reading and wanted a way for himself and others in a similar situation to maintain there sense of connection with their home town.
In October 2020 we launched another crowdfunding campaign on Crowdfunder. During the two months of the campaign we managed to raise £1,120. This funded the planting of two trees in memory of the many people who have lost their lives to Covid-19, as well as other respiratory conditions, such as asthma exacerbated by air pollution.
In 2021 our director Gurprit ran 100 miles to raise funds for trees, which enabled us to plant another.
If you would like to donate to help us bring more community-funded trees to Reading, you can now do that directly through our donation form. We have been thrilled to receive individual donations of as much as £300, but even £1 will make a difference.
If you have any queries about this initiative, one of our sustainability team would be glad to answer them. Just email sustainability@ethicalreading.org.uk.
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