Markes plants a tree for every instrument sold

As part of its ongoing commitment to environmental sustainability, Markes International has announced that it will be joining the ‘Stump up for Trees’ (SUFT) initiative.

Markes’ Managing Director, Tim Hawkins, has confirmed that for every instrument sold, the company will donate to SUFT the cost of planting a tree, and monitoring it for 12 years in order to ensure it survives its pivotal sapling years.

The Welsh charity is aiming to plant 1 million trees across the Brecon Beacons, a famed area of natural beauty that sits alongside the County in which Markes International’s global HQ is located, Bridgend, UK

Tim Hawkins said: “We chose SUFT as a charity to partner with because it’s careful to take the long-view and plant trees in a sustainable way. They don’t plant indiscriminately just for the sake of ‘being green’. Instead they plant native Welsh species and work alongside landowners to change poor quality farmland into thriving woodlands.”

SUFT provides grants for farmers to plant the trees initially, and also uses a pool of volunteers to help. The charity then makes 12 annual maintenance payments to the farmers and inspects the trees each year. After 12 years the trees officially become designated as woodland and as such, are protected by UK legislation which forbids their removal or cutting down without Governmental permission. Furthermore, such permission would only be granted if their replacement is guaranteed.

As well as receiving annual payments for 12 years, the farmers also gain carbon credits which they can sell-on, in essence guaranteeing them steady income from the land.

SUFT Founder Dr Keith Powell commented: “We are delighted that Markes International has joined the SUFT family. Every tree planted in the Beacons helps a local farmer, the Welsh countryside, and the planet as a whole.”

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More information on SUFT: https://stumpupfortrees.org/