Corporate Client Case Study - Airedale Forestry
March 2024
About the corporate organisation
Airedale Forestry are a well-established local company. They have worked since 2003 to safely maintain, improve and sustain the outdoor environment for many small, medium, and large companies, specialising in Fencing, Tree work, Conservation, Landscaping and Groundworks.
Working closely with Sunderland City Council and Sunderland Voluntary Sector Alliance Airedale has ensured their social value commitment has provided added value to local voluntary and community sector organisations, improving outcomes for local communities.
What was offered?
Airedale donated £1k to provide advice and skilled labour to one voluntary and community sector organisation to support their garden, land development or maintenance. The type of works they were prepared to undertake included tree felling, pruning, brush cutting, grass cutting, vegetation management, fencing, boundary inspection, landscaping. The company also agreed to supply the required materials.
The Social Value offer was cascaded to local organisations, and we had a fantastic response from several organisations. Jim Kelso, Managing Director of Airedale Forestry read through all the applications and decided that 6 potential organisations would fit the remit of their offering. After visiting all six sites to get a better understanding of what work needed to be carried out, Jim felt that they were all worthy of the donation and found it extremely difficult to come to a decision. After a discussion with other Directors from Airedale, it was decided that £1k each would be given to five of the organisations, and the sixth, Jim agreed to supply them with excess plants and bulbs for their Mediterranean Garden.
The total social value commitment from Airedale Forestry comes to just over £6k. It is a perfect example of how working together to develop social value, attracting, and distributing funding and in-kind resources across the sector can maximise outcomes and deliver sustainable investment.
Feedback from the successful VCSE organisations
Two of the five organisations have had their garden works completed to date:
The Church of Light in Southwick requested a tree be removed from the side entrance of the building which has for many years sprouted branches that threaten the roof especially from Spring through Summertime. In the Autumn the leaves shed which creates blocked gutters, requiring cleaning sometimes twice a year to stop water coming into the Church.
The Rev Dr Peter Adegbie said "the generous offer from Airedale has made a huge difference to the church and the people who use it. It has saved the church money from regularly replacing loose tiles caused by the branches from the tree, as well as the cost saving of having the gutters cleaned twice a year. The removal of the tree will also allow us to create a space where photographs can be taken during baby dedications, wedding ceremonies and renewals".
Herrington Scout Grouprequired an area of unused ground re-purposing at the rear of their HQ building. It was overgrown and full of rubbish and had been for many years. They wanted to use this area for outdoor cooking, BBQ's and campfire songs and meetings.
Alan Toll from Herrington Scout Group said, "to do this work ourselves would have taken a long time, we are grateful to Airedale forestry for the work they have done, it looks great and the space and will be used for many years to come".
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