Sixteen of the BECK team recently braved the winter weather and ventured out into the Surrey countryside, for a day planting trees and hedgerows at West Horsley Place.

A key part of BECK’s business is our large workshop facility, operating out of our Chessington head office premises, creating high quality bespoke joinery for our hospitality, residential and museum projects.

All timber used by the workshop is FSC and/or PEFC certified, with all offcuts being donated to local colleges and schools for use in lessons, to further mitigate workshop wastage.  In addition, this year the business committed to planting one tree for every employee, to further offset our timber usage and push forward the company’s Sustainability agenda.

Brian Hutchison, Pre-Contracts Director

Brian Hutchison, Pre-Contracts Director and founder of the BECK Sustainability Forum says: “This particular activity is pertinent to us as a business because of the timber we use throughout the year at our workshop and on sites.  We wanted to redress the balance of our timber usage and give something back to our local community at the same time.  Planting one tree for every employee at BECK shows our firm commitment in offsetting the impact of our business, with key measurable sustainable and environmental objectives.  West Horsley Place has an Environmental strategy that aligns with ours, so it is great to be helping them in their endeavours” 

Working with Carbon Footprint, who facilitate sustainability and community care projects, BECK provided and planted in excess of 300 young trees at West Horsley Place, a Grade 1 listed mediaeval manor house and 400-acre estate, just 30 minutes from head office.

John Buckley from Carbon Footprint says: “Trees provide the most natural way of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, so play a critical role in the solution to climate change. In addition, these trees will provide habitats to wild life and help with flood management. We would like to thank the team from BECK for all their hard work today, supporting this really worthwhile project.”

Matt Link, Estate Manager for West Horsley Place says: “West Horsley place was set up as a trust in 2015 and the main aim is to maintain the manor house and this lovely 400-acre estate.   We don’t have a lot of money to do this, so we rely heavily on organisations like BECK to come and help.  The manpower today is fantastic.  But it’s not just having people on the ground, it’s also providing the plants, the stakes and the plant guard, which protect them as they grow.  All these things add up when you’re looking at this type of scale. “

On the day, the team planted young saplings which will grow into mature woodland and hedgerows, creating bridleways and encouraging biodiversity throughout the estate.  The trees and hedgerows planted by the team included Hawthorn, Blackthorn, Field Maple, Dog Rose, Guilder Rose, White Beam, Green Beech, Oak, Elder, Bird Cherry, Hazel and Ossier Willow.

Matt Link, says: “What we are doing today will look like mature hedgerows in years to come.  We’re trying to encourage habitats and biodiversity throughout the estate.  Specifically, today we’re completing wildlife corridors between different existing woodlands we have  on the estate.  Then these corridors will create entire habitats by themselves.  This widens the habitat and lets different animals and insects move around.  What the BECK team have done today will hopefully be a magnificent weald wildflower meadow in the future, with some hazel stoop stands and willows.  A beautiful place for visitors to enjoy throughout the year.”

Ends.