Maxol, Northern Ireland’s leading family-owned forecourt and convenience retailer, stepped out of the office recently and partnered with The Conservation Volunteers to plant a new heritage seed orchard and folklore trail at the Ulster Folk Museum.
The Orchard will become a feature of the museum, allowing The Conservation Volunteers to use it as a genetic seed bank for generations to come, as well as for environmental and cultural education programmes for both children and adults alike.
Planting the new trail is part of Maxol's carbon off-setting programme, the Carbon Neutral Programme, which supports a number of green initiatives, both global and local, including the planting of 10,000 trees across the island of Ireland which is in addition to their commitment to offset carbon emissions through established global carbon projects.
The team of Maxol volunteers, led by Maxol CEO Brian Donaldson along with board and family member, Noel McMullan, planted trees and began creating a system of willow tunnels and domes to mask the entrance into the new "Faerie" Orchard.
Brian Donaldson, Maxol CEO said: "Today has been a great opportunity to reconnect with our colleagues and to help build a wonderful new feature here at the Ulster Folk Museum. Today’s activities go above and beyond the diverse, global portfolio of certified projects we support as a business. These include various projects from wind farms to reforestation and all form part of our broader carbon offsetting programme that we have established as we continue to make progress towards becoming a more environmentally sustainable company."
Diane Keys, Operations Leader, The Conservation Volunteers said: “The Conservation Volunteers view tree planting as a connector to people, an environmental activity at the heart of our mission for healthier people and green spaces. We were delighted to host Maxol to help with the first phase of planting a tree folklore trail at Cultra. By planting conservation species this new woodland will be protected to grow to maturity when it will be used as a seed orchard to ensure the survival of these endangered native tree species.”