Christmas Tree Collection Success

We recently launched a scheme to collect used Christmas trees in the Ribble Valley, in return for a donation to help raise vital funds.

Sharon Watson, from Age UK Lancashire said: “We started the collection scheme as a way to help us raise much needed donations, but we are also keen on environmental initiatives, so we contacted Ribble Rivers Trust who were more than happy to support us by taking the trees we collected”.

“As a local charity we rely on the generosity of the public to be able to reach out to people who really need us.  This Christmas tree scheme has been successful in helping us raise around £1000, which is a good effort for our first attempt.  We collected over 60 trees from the Ribble Valley area and are really grateful to those people who donated”.

We teamed up with the Ribble Rivers Trust as part of an environmental initiative.  Charolotte Ireland from the trust explained “we are so pleased to be part of this green initiative as the collected trees will be used for brash bundling which helps prevent riverbank erosion. As the water rushes past, the trees take the impact of the water, dissipating the force and preventing the bank from erosion.  Over time sediment and mud will find its way between the branches and help build the riverbank back up.  Any excess trees will be used as chippings to use on pathways in the new community tree nurseries”.

Sharon Watson continued “Support from local businesses is something we really need, and we couldn’t have collected all those trees without the help of two local businesses – Armitstead Barnett estate agents whose two volunteers Rob and Ian not only helped us load the trees, but their local knowledge was invaluable in helping us find the addresses.   Local manufacturer Air Filtration Solutions from Preston donated a van for the day along with a member of their team to drive the van and help us with loading. Both businesses were a huge help, and we could not have completed the tree collection without their support”.

We are hoping to grow this scheme across the Ribble Valley next year and help raise even more funds.

Last year we supported 13,465 older people in Lancashire, through our services which include hospital aftercare, home help, day clubs and dementia support.  We are independent and have to raise our own funds to support our unfunded projects across the county.  

Click here for information on services or click here to find out about upcoming fundraising events.