Tag Archive for: Tree

Increase in Number of Tree Shelters Collected and Recycled

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Increase in Number of Tree Shelters Collected and Recycled: Tubex®, a Magnera brand, has announced a significant growth in the use of its Tree Shelter Collection & Recycling Programme. The first of its kind scheme saw a 39 percent increase in the number of shelters returned and recycled in 2025 compared to previous year, with the Programme now close to a milestone of two million shelters collected and recycled.

At the end of the 2025, 1,982 dumpy sacks of collected tree guards had been returned to Tubex®, up from 1,421 in 2024.

Increase in Number of Tree Shelters Collected and Recycled

Increase in Number of Tree Shelters Collected and Recycled

Once collected, the tree shelters are sorted, washed and reprocessed back into raw material, at an impressive yield of 95.6 percent – meaning that 95.6 percent of the collected shelter material can be used to manufacture new product.

For Pete Stevens, Business Development Manager at Tubex®, the 2025 figures reinforce the long-term success of the Programme and its national hub network.

“Last year, we announced that since the start of the Collection & Recycling Programme in 2022, we had recycled more than 1 million tree shelters.  With these figures, we are now approaching the 2 million milestone – a testament to the collective endeavour of the forestry sector to collect used shelters at end of life.”

Polypropylene (PP) shelters containing recycled material that are recycled at end of use are still the lowest environmental impact option (Independent LCA study here: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10130156/) and represent a circular use of materials which is a key pillar of sustainability.

With a growing network of 24 recycling hubs nationwide, Tubex® has collaborated with its distributors and various forestry organisations to create accessible and convenient free drop-off points for legacy tree shelters.

Hub partners include Yorkshire Dales Millenium Trust, Forest Working Plastics Group, Tilhill, Maydencroft, British Hardwood Tree Nursery, Ashlea Landscaping and Green-Tech among others.

For more information visit – https://tubex.com/sustainability/tree-shelter-collection-recycling-programme/

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Hewitt Tree Surgery Invests in FSI B21

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Hewitt Tree Surgery Invests in FSI B21: When Joe Hewitt launched Hewitt Tree Surgery in Cornwall in June 2024, he knew exactly what equipment he needed to compete in the domestic market.

After nearly five years working his way from apprentice to fully qualified climber, including stints in Australia and New Zealand, he’d learned that reliable equipment makes all the difference. The FSI B21 stump grinder was the natural choice to complete his fleet, expanding the range of services he can offer to domestic customers across the county.

Hewitt Tree Surgery Invests in FSI B21

Hewitt Tree Surgery Invests in FSI B21

Growing from the Ground Up

“After I completed my apprenticeship, I started subcontracting, climbing for a lot of other tree surgeons throughout Cornwall” Joe explains. “I then spent some time working in Australia and New Zealand before coming back and setting up on my own.” Since launching, Joe has welcomed a new team member and a growing customer base to his books.

“We’ve invested in everything we need to service the domestic market – van, hand tools and woodchipper – and this year decided to get our own stump grinder. We found we were hiring one fairly frequently, but this was reliant on availability and sometimes involved a lot of running around to collect a machine, only to find it wasn’t in the best of working condition.”

The Right Fit for the Job

Cornwall’s coastal landscape brings plenty of challenges, from narrow gardens to steep steps, which made the lightweight FSI B21 the perfect choice.

“It’s light and compact enough to lift and manoeuvre around properties and steps, but powerful enough to handle most of the stumps we see in a residential garden. We’d previously hired the slightly larger FSI B22 so I knew first off to expect fantastic build quality and reliability. In addition, the FSI B21 is equipped with some useful features such as the hill-hold brake assist which is great for loading on trucks and working on slopes. It’s fitted right in with how and where we work” comments Joe.

FSI: Backed with Confidence

Joe’s decision to buy FSI was also backed by reputation and experience. He adds, “A lot of arb community groups praise FSI and from my own experience I’ve got only positive things to say.” This positivity extends too, to the relationship he’s established with FSI and his local dealer partner, Elmstar Machinery. “Jason at Elmstar has been brilliant. He was joined by FSI’s Lee Hatton on the install in September 2025 who, together, gave me all the information and tips I needed to get the very best out of my machine.”

He concludes, “The FSI B21 has been an affordable, versatile addition to the fleet, helping us expand our services as we continue to grow the business in new ways.”

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New garden at Chestnut Tree House Hospice

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New garden at Chestnut Tree House Hospice: The Greenfingers Charity is delighted to announce the official opening of its latest magical garden, this time at Chestnut Tree House Hospice in Arundel, with the new Kitchen Garden which was unveiled on Wednesday 24th September 2025.

Designed by award-winning garden designers Fisher Tomlin & Bowyer and built by Baylis Landscapes, the new space brings together ornamental planting, growing beds, and pollinator-friendly features to create a haven for children, families, and staff.

New garden at Chestnut Tree House Hospice

New garden at Chestnut Tree House Hospice

The Kitchen Garden has been designed to encourage hands-on engagement with nature, supporting sustainability, exploration, education and wellbeing. Children will have the opportunity to learn more about the journey from ‘Garden to Plate’, while produce grown will also be used in the hospice kitchen while the ‘Dads Club’ will be encouraged to get actively involved in tending the garden.

Boyd Douglas-Davies, Chairman of the Greenfingers Charity, reflected on the milestone: “Reaching our 70th garden is a moment of immense pride. Hospices are under enormous pressure to fund the essential care provided within their walls and that’s where Greenfingers steps in. We’re the only charity dedicated to creating therapeutic outdoor spaces for children’s hospices and with the support of our partners and the public, we can continue to make a difference. This Kitchen Garden is a shining example of what can be achieved when compassion and creativity come together.”

Stuart Palma, CEO of Southern Hospice Group, which includes Chestnut Tree House Hospice, added: “It’s a very exciting time for our hospice, and this beautiful new garden is a testament to the power of partnership. Having seen first-hand the essential work hospices do for children and families, I’m thrilled to be part of a community that shares a passion for exceptional care. This garden will offer a peaceful, engaging space for connection, healing, and learning, whilst also providing produce we can use in our kitchens and improve our sustainability. But it’s important to remember that Chestnut Tree House receives only around 7% of its income from central government and with running costs of £6 million a year, we must raise £5 million annually through fundraising and partnerships to keep providing our vital services. That’s why projects like this mean so much and we’re incredibly grateful to Greenfingers and all those who made it possible.”

Greenfingers Charity is hugely grateful to Honorary Member, Roger Head, whose incredible generosity made the garden possible, and to all those who kindly gave funds or gifts in kind to help create The Kitchen Garden at Chestnut Tree House.  Special thanks go to the Chapman Trust, The Hedley Foundation, Alexander Rose Ltd, Arbour Landscapes, Greenwood Plants, Rolawn,Veg Trug and others whose support has helped to bring this very special space to life.

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Tubex Tree Shelters Now Made with Minimum 50% Recycled Content

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Tubex Tree Shelters Now Made with Minimum 50% Recycled Content: Tubex, A Magnera Brand, has announced that all its market-leading recyclable tree shelters are now being produced using a minimum of 50% recycled content, a significant milestone in the company’s ongoing drive to improve sustainability in tree protection.

Available for the 2025/26 planting season, Tubex’s standard shelters of all heights, including its Shrubshelter and Easywrap range, will all contain a minimum of 50% recycled material, with an increasing proportion of that recycled content coming directly from used shelters recycled through Tubex’s Collection & Recycling Programme.

Tubex Tree Shelters Now Made with Minimum 50% Recycled Content

Tubex Tree Shelters Now Made with Minimum 50% Recycled Content

This latest improvement forms part of the manufacturer’s wider goal of improving the sustainability proposition for tree shelters as Dean Latten, Tubex’s Plant Director, explains:
“It was always our goal to maximise the amount of recycled content in our shelters, but we needed to ensure that we could manufacture consistently at that increased level. Thanks to a brilliant effort from our team in Aberdare, we are now able to do this.

“This is the same leading recyclable shelter range that thousands of landowners and foresters trust, just made with more recycled material. We’re always looking for ways to improve what we offer, and this is another step in the right direction for us.”

Tubex recycled shelters have the lowest carbon footprint in our range and are 100% recyclable at end of life. This closed-loop system enables contractors and landowners to minimise waste, meet regulatory requirements and reduce the long-term impact of their planting projects.

For more information on the updated Tubex shelters and the full range of sustainable tree protection options, visit: https://tubex.com/products/tubex-standard-recyclable-tree-shelters/

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Brentwood Tree Surgery Reaches New Heights

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Brentwood Tree Surgery Reaches New Heights: When Adrian Strudwick, owner of Brentwood Tree Surgery, was weighing up whether to hire another employee or invest in a new machine, he made a game-changing decision — and hasn’t looked back since.

The purchase of an Avant 630 compact loader has not only accelerated operations across his tree surgery and firewood businesses, but it’s also unlocked new opportunities, turning the machine into what Adrian now calls “the centre of the firm.”

Brentwood Tree Surgery Reaches New Heights

Brentwood Tree Surgery Reaches New Heights

Adrian’s background is in engineering — he began in aircraft engineering before joining the forces in 1982. After leaving the military, he retrained in arboriculture, eventually gaining a degree in the subject and setting up Brentwood Tree Surgery. Over the years, his business has expanded to include firewood processing, site / estate management, and driveway installation — and the Avant 630 has been instrumental in driving that growth.

The Avant 630 isn’t just a forestry machine for Adrian — it’s a versatile workhorse. Used both on-site and at the yard, the compact loader handles everything from loading trucks and towing trailers to moving hay bales for horses and feeding timber into kilns.

“We use it for shifting machinery, unloading our Unimog, clearing the yard, moving crates of firewood — you name it,” says Adrian. “It’s sped up production so much. What used to take multiple people and hours of manual labour, we can now do faster, more efficiently, and with less fatigue.”

Its versatility comes from its size, agility, and the vast range of attachments available — Adrian currently uses forks, a loading bucket, a power rake, and a stone burier, with plans to add a stump grinder and flail mower to his kit.

On-site at Barrack Wood, a historic woodland near Warley and Thorndon Country Park, Adrian uses the Avant 630 to manage timber extraction with minimal impact on the environment.

“It’s relatively light on the ground, so you don’t get the damage you would with a 10-tonne forestry vehicle,” he explains. “You can trailer it in and out easily, and you don’t need to leave it on site overnight. It’s so versatile.”

Barrack Wood, steeped in history from the Napoleonic era, is a delicate environment. Adrian’s careful management and the Avant’s low ground pressure make it an ideal combination for sustainable woodland work.

Brentwood Tree Surgery also runs a kiln-dried firewood company — the only one in the area with a wood kiln capable of drying 15 tonnes of timber in just five days.

Brentwood Tree Surgery Reaches New Heights

Brentwood Tree Surgery Reaches New Heights

“All the waste wood is burnt in biomass boilers to fuel the kiln,” says Adrian. “The Avant loads the firewood processor, moves the crates into the kiln, and unloads them when they’re ready. It’s essential to how we work now.”

The high-quality firewood meets DEFRA and Woodsure standards — a key requirement in today’s market — and Adrian credits the Avant 630 for helping maintain this efficiency and quality.

“It ticks so many boxes for a machine of its size. You can do so many different types of work with it – it really is a super tool,” he says. “And the quick-release hydraulics make switching attachments a matter of seconds. No downtime.”

He’s been so impressed with the performance that after three years of ownership, he’s looking to add a second unit — or possibly upgrade and keep the original.

Adrian also praises the support he’s received from Avant’s dealer, Avant South East. “Chris and the team have been fantastic. They’re a family-run firm and really good to work with.”

For Brentwood Tree Surgery, the Avant 630 has become far more than a machine — it’s a business enabler.

“It really is the centre of the firm now,” says Adrian. “The amount of jobs it can do is endless.”

For more information, please visit www.avanttecno.com/uk

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