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A year on from our initial sustainability pledge, we’ve extended our commitment – supporting Go Outdoors Learning, a local forest school, to plant 300 trees as part of the Woodland Trust Free Trees for Schools Scheme.

Led by former park ranger turned nursery worker, Karen Hutchinson, members of our sales and marketing team joined in the excitement of the tree planting initiative – alongside practitioners and children from the setting. 

The little ones were pleased to have fun digging in the mud and discovering a host of welcome visitors – pointing out the many wiggly worms and insects that they came across throughout. The team rounded off a job well done with some homemade vegetable soup by the campfire.

Commenting on the support provided by Connect, Karen said: “Having seen Connect’s sustainability pledge, we were keen to see if they would be willing to help out with the huge task of planting hundreds of trees in our woodland. We were delighted when they said yes!

“It was fantastic to have the team join us in the activity, which will not only make a fantastic, positive difference for the environment – but for our children too. We very much enjoyed welcoming our visitors and an enriching day was had by all.”

The hands-on support follows our pledge to plant a tree for every software demo booked, resulting in the donation of 351 trees via the more:trees scheme, which have since been planted in Madagascar – sequestering a total of 105.00 tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere. That’s the equivalent of an estimated 1,209,600 miles driven by the average UK passenger car.

Commenting on Connect’s sustainability activities, our marketing lead, Caitlin Holmes, said: “It’s been extremely rewarding to see the impact that our initial pledge has generated, and getting ‘hands-on’ with Go Outdoors Learning has really helped to bring it all into focus, locally. 

“Working together with the children at the nursery and knowing that what we’re trying to achieve will have a positive impact on the world – and, as a result, the futures of those little ones – was just lovely. We’re thankful for the opportunity to have visited and also to have seen, firsthand, the fantastic benefits that nature brings within the educational setting.”

Go Outdoors Learning incorporates elements from Forest Schooling, Montessori, Reggio, and The Curiosity Approach, resulting in a unique educational provision which complements the community and culture within which it operates.

The approach champions independence and mindfulness through unstructured and open-ended play, with a unique setting giving children space and freedom – promoting a child-led, holistic experience.

You can catch up on our tree planting experience in the video below…