Mold based P&A Group expanded environmental work into Poland

Mold based P&A Group has expanded its environmental work into Poland following a recent visit to the country by two employees who took part in an initiative to plant over 10,000 acres of trees.

Rhys Hughes, Supply Chain Director, and Mark Stewart, Group Buyer, joined forces with 950 volunteers and companies from the Gdansk area to plant trees in an area where the woodland had been destroyed by a freak hurricane back in 2017.

As part of the visit, Rhys and Mark visited North Poland which has the best managed forests in Europe.

They also went to the nurseries where the seeds are grown before being planted out once over a year old.

Once planted, these trees are then left to mature and felled after 80 to 120 years.

The timber from the felled trees is used to make Zest’s award winning outdoor garden products, which is part of the P&A Group.

Zest, with its main supply partners in Eastern Europe, is dedicated to re-planting and nurturing woodland habitat and is collaborating on planting schemes as source and working closely with both the Polish State Forestry and Polish manufacturing partners.

This latest tree planting project reinforces the Group’s environmental credentials.

Earlier this year, the company partnered with the North Wales Wildlife Trust, with employees taking part in a Woodlands for Water Project.

Several employees representing the P&A Group, donned their wellies and worked alongside other volunteers to plant 2,000 common hedges on wetlands on the Plas ym Mhowys Farm in Leeswood, Flintshire.

The company is also working with the Wildlife Trust on two projects to plant trees on over 30 acres of land in Flintshire and Denbighshire.

Through the Woodlands for Water Project, North Wales Wildlife Trust is working to restore wooded habitats within the Alun and Chwiler river catchments.

The planting of new woodlands will mean that wildlife will have a better chance to move through the landscape while, at the same time, water resource management will be improved on the Plas ym Mhowys Farm.

The project will also help restore native broadleaf woodland and allow threatened wildlife to return to the hills again.

Commenting on the recent initiatives, Rhys Hughes, Director of Strategic Development & Supply Chain at the P&A Group said:

“Part of the P&A Group Mission Statement is “contributing to the communities in which we serve”, be this raising money for local charities or by having a positive impact on the local environment.

“The re-planting work in Poland is also something were passionate about and working closely with our suppliers and their communities to ensure a sustainable future.”

“It’s great to see so many volunteers come together to improve local environments, be it planting vast acres of trees in Poland to planting hedges in farm wetlands in North Wales.”

“P&A Group is very environmentally conscious; we use solar panels on office buildings and biomass produced onsite is used to heat the business.”

“In addition, Zest, one of the divisions of P&A, only produces timber garden furniture made from pressure treated slow grown softwood, sourced from responsibly-managed Forestry Stewardship Certified managed forests.”

“Being a certified FSC® member ensures that the forests are being managed in a way that preserves biological diversity and benefits the lives of local people and workers, while ensuring it sustains economic viability.”

As well as the hedge planting, six P&A Group employees have helped to plant trees in Afonwen, Denbigshire.

The team planted Rowan, Birch, Hazel, Oak and Maple trees and planted them in Gorse bushes to prevent livestock from eating the trees whilst they are beginning to grow.

Thomas Jones, Senior Digital Marketing Executive, one of the P&A Group volunteers who took part in both projects said:

“It’s great to be able contribute to helping wildlife return to this area by planting trees and hedges. This is just one of the many ways that P&A contributes to the areas in which we work and live.”