Tesco plants more than 2,000 trees at Devon store

A MAJOR tree-planting project is taking place at a Devon Tesco store to improve the wildlife habitat and screen the building’s rooftops.

The store will have a total of 2,100 native trees planted to the south of its Ilfracombe site in an area of land stretching to the Old Barnstaple Road.

Existing scrub will be retained for its habitat value, with the tree-planting and subsequent establishment of woodland strengthening the existing habitat.

This will provide enhanced species diversity, as well as connectivity for the hedgerows along Old Barnstable Road and within adjacent agricultural land.

The woodland and retained vegetation will also improve air quality by removing up to 45kg of pollution elements, while removing as much as 2,050kg of carbon from the atmosphere and storing up to 65 tonnes of carbon over a 60-year period.

Ilfracombe store manager Phil Trottman said: “It’s been great to see these trees being planted outside the store. I think this will not only improve the green space around the store but also have a positive impact on the community and our environment for years to come.”

As part of its tree-planting initiative, Tesco is planting more than 11,000 trees at sites across the UK, with a further 88,000 set to follow by the end of 2022.

Claire De Silva, head of communities and local media for Tesco, said: “We are focused on tackling the global climate change threat, which forms part of our overall sustainability strategy. This includes reducing the amount of plastic in our supply chain, reducing our emissions, working with farmers to protect biodiversity, climate and soil health.

“These sites have been identified as having an area of land which would benefit from additional woodland, which enhances the overall look and feel surrounding our locations while, more importantly, aiding in carbon sequestration, biodiversity and habitat creation.”

As part of its ongoing commitment to sustainability, in 2019 Tesco pledged to remove 1bn pieces of plastic from its packaging – a target which was reached in December 2020.