Member Article

Local tissue maker and the Mayor of Gateshead launch the Velvet Regeneration Project at Mary’s Wood

SCA Prudhoe Mill, the home of Velvet toilet tissue, has joined forces with the urban tree planting charity Trees for Cities and Gateshead Council to create Mary’s Wood, a new community woodland at Stella Hall in Blaydon for local people to enjoy.

At a special launch event, the Mayor of Gateshead Councillor Jack Graham was joined by children from nearby St Mary and St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Primary School to kick off a week-long campaign to plant 8,000 native saplings in grassland.

The new trees, a combination of native broad leaf, small leaf and fruit bearing trees, will form a vital link between two established woodlands near Path Head Water Mill to boost the area’s biodiversity by transforming the underused space into a flourishing green environment to improve the movement of wildlife in the area.

Mayor of Gateshead, Cllr Jack Graham, said: “This new woodland will be a fantastic place for all manner of species, including us humans. It’s a great example of how local people and organisations can come together to improve an area. With the involvement of so many people I hope that this really will become a treasured part of the community.

“By linking together the existing woodland with this new planting, Mary’s Wood will make a real difference to the area and I look forward to seeing it mature over the coming years.”

The project complements and is in addition to Velvet’s existing and on-going campaign to celebrate trees with its ‘Three Trees Promise’ - its commitment to replace three trees for each one used in the manufacturing process.

The company has donated over £20,000 to the ‘Mary’s Wood - Velvet Regeneration Project’ in Gateshead. The project has also received funding from the Forestry Commission.

SCA staff and their families along with Trees for Cities and volunteers in the local community also took part in the launch.

Richard Sutcliffe, factory and site manager at SCA Prudhoe Mill, said: “It’s fantastic for us to support a project that’s so close to home. We’ve had great fun planting today.

“Our hope is to establish a thriving urban woodland for the local community to enjoy and appreciate for many generations to come. It’s also our way of giving something back to the community and our employees, many of whom live locally.”

To date SCA has planted thousands of trees in urban areas across the UK through its long-term partnership with Trees for Cities.

Sharon Johnson, chief executive of Trees for Cities, said: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with Gateshead Council, Velvet and SCA Prudhoe Mill on this project. It’s our second year working in Gateshead, and with the amazing support of Velvet, we are extremely excited to be planting 8,000 new trees to boost the area’s biodiversity and create a new green space for the benefit of local communities. The project marks the end of a fantastic year for us, with over 52,000 trees planted in cities across the UK.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Amy Maughan, Contributor .