Funeral service goes wild planting trees

Yorkshire funeral service, Full Circle Funerals, is paying for a tree to be planted for every family it supports whilst off-setting the carbon of its funerals, after teaming up with Make It Wild, which is planting tens of thousands of trees across the local countryside.

Families then also have the option to plant a named memorial tree, in addition to the tree already paid for by the funeral service.

Make It Wild is run by husband and wife team, Christopher and Helen Neave, and launched in 2011 with 26-acres of rough pasture between Harrogate and York at Kirk Hammerton, where the couple planned to kickstart biodiversity and create a space that would entice wildlife. After planting 20,000 trees, sowing eight acres of wildflower meadows and digging several ponds, the site is now home to a vast array of wildlife and known locally as Sylvan Nature Reserve.

Make It Wild has since acquired several further sites in the Nidderdale countryside at Summerbridge. These include 111 acres at Bank Woods and a 44-acre neighbouring site known as Dowgill Grange. Working with The Woodland Trust and The Forestry Commission, Make It Wild has already planted more than 16,000 trees across both sites and earlier this year Bank Woods was designated as a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation.

Make It Wild has now launched a range of flexible partnership opportunities for local businesses, across all industries, as well as individuals, which enables them to sponsor individual trees and sections of woodland, as well as taking monthly subscriptions. The company also maps its sites using drone photography so clients can see exactly which trees and areas they are sponsoring.

Full Circle Funerals operates sites in Guiseley, Bramley, Harrogate and Halifax and has pioneered a range of industry leading and eco-friendly innovations, including becoming the first UK funeral service outside London to offer an electric eco-hearse, to complement its traditional fleet of funeral vehicles.

The company’s founder, Sarah Jones, explained: “When we heard about the work that Make It Wild is doing, we immediately knew it would be a great initiative for Full Circle Funerals to support. In most cases, a single tree off-sets the carbon of a funeral and it also acts as a legacy to the person who has died, which made it a perfect fit for many of the families we support. Lots of people would like to consider the environment when they are arranging a funeral, but it can be very difficult to fulfil funeral wishes and make choices that feel right while also considering the environment. Planting a tree to offset the carbon emissions associated with the funeral is one way that we can help.”

Helen said: “We started out with the simple aim of doing something to tackle climate change and creating more wild space to help combat the impact that humans are having on the planet, which is squeezing wildlife out of its natural habitat. Since 1970, earth has lost 60% of its wildlife, largely due to habitat loss, so we decided to create more wild space, including trees, meadows and ponds, where wildlife can thrive.

“It’s been a big success and we’ve already planted more than 36,000 trees. We plan to grow this to 100,000 by 2028, which will form a major part of the Northern Forest initiative. We are confident we can achieve this target and our sponsorship packages are now proving popular with forward thinking businesses, like Full Circle Funerals, that are committed to their green credentials and contributing responsibly to the natural environment.

“The money we’re raising from these sponsorships will enable us to acquire more land as we continue growing and we are already looking at adding several further sites in the next 12 months, which makes this an exciting time for both Make It Wild and our local countryside.”

Make It Wild’s carbon offsetting for businesses costs just £4.20 per tonne of carbon dioxide and is available in multiples of 10. They offer a wide range of other flexible options including a subscription starting at £4.10 per month. The company also sells a range of eco-friendly and zero waste products