Koobr joined the Woodland Trust in planting 13,000 trees to help combat carbon emissions and fight climate change.

Did you know that the Committee on Climate Change suggested earlier this year that 30,000 hectares of woodland need to be planted annually in the wake of the climate change emergency? That is more than double the amount of trees that were planted last year.

Here at Koobr we have a deep sense of place – both in terms of our commitment to the community of Derby and the surrounding areas as well as the environment full-stop.

So when Andrew Edmondson, Managing Director of fellow Derby-based business Purely Digital, invited our Managing Director Craig Barker to take part in an ambitious tree-planting event recently, it really was a no-brainer.

Taking place in Mead, near Heanor, the tree-planting exercise was anything but a walk in the park and the challenging task was very deliberate in what it was looking to achieve. To add a bit more context, it is argued that every person on the planet needs to plant 150 trees each in order to reverse the damage that carbon emissions have caused over the past ten years.

So Andrew and Craig’s challenge was to do just that – plant 300 trees between them in a ‘Big Climate Fightback’ campaign organised by the Woodland Trust, in conjunction with Premier Paper, aimed at encouraging more people to plant trees in their communities.

Woodland Trust plants trees, protects woods, restores ancient woodland, provides research and evidence and influences Government policy on climate change – so the great work they do to safeguard not just our futures but the generations to come certainly added an inspiring and motivational element to the day of digging and planting.

On the subject of future generations, the area of land being populated with new trees is aptly named the ‘Young People’s Forest’.

It was here that more than 300 people descended to take part in this important initiative – while the BBC’s acclaimed and respected Countryfile presenter Julia Bradbury was also on-hand throughout the day to share her knowledge and experience about the huge benefits of people of all ages getting outdoors and, of course, the impact the environment can have on our health and wellbeing.

Did Craig manage to reach the target of planting 150 trees on the day? You bet he did – in fact, an amazing 13,000 individual trees were planted on the day; a fantastic effort by everyone taking part.

Having completed the challenge, our green-fingered Craig said: “At Koobr, we are well known for having our local community at heart and giving back to Derby whenever we can; however this challenge goes further than that.

“Climate change is a massive issue that doesn’t just effect our local communities, it effects the whole world. We do all we can at Koobr to practice what we preach by being very conscious of our carbon footprint but this was a great way to not just reduce the impact of climate change but also make a positive difference – I am sure Mead will benefit enormously in the years to come as a result of this large-scale tree planting exercise.

“I would like to take the opportunity to thank Andrew at Purely Digital for inviting me along and providing this opportunity for Koobr to make a real difference not just to the local community but in combating wider environmental issues – although I don’t think my hamstrings are thanking him after all that digging!”