Homelife SS22_Digital | Page 48

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE

A greener

LEGACY

Bought by his father in 1950 , Hagbrae Farm has been through a number of evolutions in the last 70 years . Starting out as a dairy farm – with the cows coming down by train from Speyside- Andrew Lorrain- Smith tells us they turned organic in 2000 and converted to organic beef and lamb more than 15 years later . Today , it ’ s the Cotswold Company ’ s largest UK tree planting site – with more than 30,156 trees planted to date .

Sparked by an urge to do their part and play an important role in addressing – and tackling – climate change , Andrew and his daughter Jude tell us it took “ an imaginative leap , a discussion with a farm advisor and an application to the Forestry Grant scheme ” to kickstart their ambition . The Cotswold Company has bought the carbon credits for six plots of trees at Hagbrae Farm – accounting for 49 acres – dotted on farmland and wetland . From broad leaf to birch , beech to sycamore and two types of oak tree , Andrew and Jude have proudly planted a mix of 13 different tree species . All slowly and surely doing their part to offset carbon emissions and give something back to the natural world . Not only do they help to provide shelter and shade for the farm ’ s livestock , but the importance of planting trees – especially for a furniture company – goes far beyond an obligation to do the right thing . It ’ s essential in our fight against global warming , our passion to be better and do more , and our collective efforts to leave behind a kinder , greener legacy for generations to come . Planting trees can help in a number of ways – both short and long-term . Jude tells us more about the benefits of transpiration – a powerful short-term solution – that results from planting trees on a much larger scale . “ Trees produce healthier soil , which in turn can hold more water . This then travels up through the tree to be released through the leaves by evaporation . It ’ s a process that cools the planet by a remarkable degree . A medium-term effect is that trees will fix carbon and assist in reducing the amount of carbon in the atmosphere correcting the underlying cause of climate change , but this will
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