Burton funeral team invited to plant commemorative trees in the town to mark Queen’s Jubilee

Posted by james brindle | Published: 09/02/2022


A Central England Co-op Funeralcare team in Burton joined the local council and other volunteers to plant a special avenue of trees in the town to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

The Queen’s Jubilee Avenue of 20 Hornbeam trees has been planted at Shobnall Playing Fields and among the volunteers who joined the Wellings Funeral Home team at the event was East Staffordshire Mayor Councillor Patricia Ackroyd.

In spring, following the planting, wildflowers will be sown along the avenue of trees to create a beautiful floral display which will also attract bees and other pollinating insects.

Fiona Thompson, Senior Funeral Director at Wellings Funeral Home, part of Central England Co-op Funeralcare, said the team were excited to be part of the event and are looking forward to taking part in more community activity around the jubilee.

She said: “We were delighted to be asked to be involved in this special project, helping to commemorate the Queen’s Jubilee and make a small contribution to improving the environment in the town which we are so proud to be a part of.

“We are always looking for ways in which we can get actively involved in the local community and we have lots of ideas for more events and projects during this special year which we will be looking to organise to further mark the Queen’s extraordinary commitment to our country.”

This planting operation is one of many taking place across the borough at a large number of East Staffordshire Borough Council open spaces this winter. A number of volunteers have come forward to support the Horticultural team who are aiming to plant over 2,000 trees this winter to support the council’s policy on Climate Change and Carbon Footprint reduction.

Councillor Patricia Ackroyd, Mayor of East Staffordshire, said: “This is a wonderful way for us to commemorate the Queen’s Jubilee and play another small part in helping to improve our environment.”

Volunteers interested in joining future planting projects can apply by visiting www.eaststaffsbc.gov.uk/open-spaces/volunteer

 

Notes to editors

About Central England Co-operative

Central England Co-operative is one of the largest independent retail co-operative societies in the UK with interests in food, funeral, floral and property investment.

Owned by hundreds of thousands of members, its over 8,000 colleagues serve customers across 400 plus trading sites in 20 counties in the East and West Midlands, Yorkshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.

Its purpose is to inspire communities to create a sustainable Society for all.

It actively campaigns for the Government to increase sentencing for violent attacks on retail workers and works with FareShare Midlands and hundreds of food banks, generating enough food donations to create over 2.1 million meals for people in need.

The Society embraces inclusivity and equality and is a signed-up member to the Business in the Community (BITC) Race at Work Charter, while it is also fully committed to addressing the impact of climate change and is on track to be Carbon Neutral by 2030. 

It invests a percentage of its trading profit into local communities through its Community Dividend Fund scheme which has seen over £175,000 shared out between 116 good causes over the past 12 months.

Central England Co-op was named Leading Co-op of the Year by Co-operatives UK in 2021.

Press office contacts: Rob Smyth and James Brindle

Phone - 01543 421390

Email - publicrelations@centralengland.coop