Sustainability Spotlight: The Farm’s ‘Feel Good Forest’
Introducing… The Farm’s Feel-Good Forest 🌿☀️
To do something kind for people and the planet, we’re excited to be launching a brand-new employee recognition / tree-planting scheme 🌳
Coinciding with National Tree Week (26th November-4th December), the aim is to plant a tree for every act of kindness recognised among team members, whether that’s going above and beyond expectations, offering a helping hand to a colleague or customer in need, or consistently offering valuable contributions that may go unrecognised ⭐
All these acts of kindness will contribute to The Farm’s Feel-Good Forest 😊🍃🍂🍁
How does it work?
- Each month staff members will be allocated 4 ‘seeds’ – each seed can be used to write something good about another team member
- On a small piece of paper staff will be invited to write: 1) the name of the person they are recognising, 2) what they’ve done to deserve it and 3) their name
- Team members can submit their recognitions to the jar placed in the staff room
- Recognitions will be collected and used to plant real trees via Ecologi – a tree-planting initiative that supports real projects around the world
- Each ‘seed’ given (aka each recognition put inside the jar) = one tree planted 😊
- For an extra dose of feel-good, we’ll put personal recognitions in envelopes which team members can collect in a similar way to tips
Why a feel-good forest?
Building a sustainable company is never limited to its green credentials. Positive impact goes hand-in-hand with a sustainable workplace culture: one that supports its staff, clients and community to feel as welcome and supported as possible. In a world where the cost of living is placing more pressure on service providers, employees and consumers alike, what’s one thing that doesn’t have to cost the earth?
Kindness 😊
It’s well-documented that being kind creates a warmer workplace culture: and happy employees are more likely to make positive changes in other areas of their life. By fostering a sense of togetherness, it’s our ambition to create an environment that puts people and the planet first.
Feel-good festivities
Via Ecologi, we’ll also be planting a tree for each of the 250 evergreen trees at The Farm this Christmas 😊🌲
Cutting down evergreen trees to meet the festive demand is not without its impact, but by planting a new tree for every one bought at The Farm this Christmas, we’re doing our part to reverse the negative effects. For many of us eco-conscious tree lovers, there’s widespread debate over the best options to keep our carbon footprint to a minimum. And it always comes down to one question…
Real or fake?
While there is an argument for going artificial if you’re going to have a tree for many years, ultimately there’s only one place a fake tree will end up: discarded in the environment. Evergreens, on the other hand, have a much greater potential for repurposing once the festivities are over…trees that are mulched become soil which can be used to sequester more carbon and support the growth of new plants (maybe even your future Christmas trees!). Farm animals like pigs and goats will also happily snack on evergreen branches (all chemicals used by our UK-based tree provider are tested to ensure minimal impact on flora and fauna) – and we have plenty of eager animals to feed here at The Farm!
Embracing a Conscious Christmas
If you’re set on picking out your perfect evergreen this year, The Farm’s selection of Christmas trees are sourced responsibly from Infinity, a UK grower based in Herefordshire – saving on all those transport and emission costs associated with shipping trees from overseas. A wide network of Christmas tree farms from Infinity means that transport emissions are kept to a minimum, allowing their plantations to absorb an impressive 900 tonnes of CO2 each year. And as part of our Feel-Good Forest, we’re matching Infinity’s commitment to plant a new tree for every one harvested.
Our trees will be arriving on the 1st December…so get in the festive spirit and visit us at The Farm Stratford to pick your perfect tree from our polytunnel 😊
