Christmas tree recycling: Charity Christmas tree initiative raises more than £18,000 for West Sussex hospices

More than 1,200 residents across West Sussex and in Brighton and Hove signed up for the scheme, which was run through the UK charity Just Helping.

Businesses also took part by making voluntary donations to have their trees collected and in total 1,280 Christmas trees were taken to recycling plants in the area as a result of the partnership.

Warnes Projects in Ford was one of the firms that signed up to support St Barnabas House hospice.

Steve Hobbs, managing director, said: “We have been supporting St Barnabas for four years now and we are always looking for dynamic ways to help the charity.

“We knew we had to get involved with the Christmas tree recycling project earlier in 2021, we reached out to local garden centres and the local council to help get the initiative started.

“We also offered our yard as the collection hub. We are thrilled that the project was so successful and were happy to help with raising funds for this exceptional charity.”

In total, 450 people in the BN16 and BN17 postcode areas, including Angmering, East Preston, Littlehampton and Rustington, signed up, raising £6,000 for St Barnabas House.

In Bognor, volunteers collected and recycled around 170 Christmas trees, raising more than £2,300, and across Brighton and Hove, more than 700 trees were collected and recycled, raising just over £10,000 for Chestnut Tree House children’s hospice.

Charlotte Waring, community fundraising manager for the hospices, said: “We’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who got involved with the initiative this year and helped to make it a great success. We rely heavily on the generosity and support of the community and we’re so grateful to everyone who pulled together and helped raise over £18,000 from donations through the Christmas tree recycling initiative.

“It wouldn’t have been possible without the support of our wonderful volunteers who gave up their time to help with the tree collections.”

There were 38 volunteers who helped collect the trees between January 8 and 12. One of the first to sign up was Roger Chapman from Old Village Home & Garden Services in Portslade.

Roger said: “I have been involved with Chestnut Tree House for many years now. And as soon as I heard about the Christmas tree recycling scheme, I knew I had to get involved and help raise vital funds for the hospice.

“I love supporting the charity for many reasons – it’s a great opportunity for my business to get involved in the local community and to give something back but at the heart of it all, it’s that I can help children who need hospice care.”

Corporate partners also included Haskins Garden Centre, Biffa, Buywise, Arun District Council, Heritage Products, 1st Central County Cricket Ground, Wickes, Tapi Carpets & Floors, Roberts Transport, Arb Bros Tree Services, Lifting & Shifting, Thyme to Garden, Lamonde Automation Limited, Fargro Limited, Virgin, former BHA FC player Kerry Mayo, Start Communications, Bognor Town FC, Round Top Trees, F&G Transport, Graham Hurren and Sterling Gardeners.

Charlotte said: “I would like to say a big thank you to Roger, Steve and all the volunteers, as well as all the amazing local businesses, volunteers and residents involved with the collection. Without people like you in our local community, hospice care wouldn’t be possible.”

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