On Saturday 14 March 2026, Krinkels UK joined Richmond Council’s Parks and Trees Team at Old Deer Park for a community tree giveaway.

The goal was to encourage local residents to plant trees in their own gardens and play a small part in providing a better environment for local wildlife.

It’s a simple idea, giving away trees, but it’s something that does so much good for the environment and local biodiversity.

By the end of the morning, all 500 tree whips (bare root trees with no leaves) had been collected.

How we chose the trees

The council is planning for the future, so we worked with them to source appropriate trees based on how well they’re expected to cope with future UK climate conditions, meaning that what we plant now will still be thriving for generations to come. Longevity was the aim of the game.

Using our supply network, we sourced five species of trees that are suited to the projected climate of 2050-2090. These included:

  • Tamarix ramosissima
  • Betula papyrifera
  • Prunus cerasifera
  • Acer tataricum ginnala
  • Taxus baccata

We didn’t stop there

Sure, we could have handed the trees out and hoped for the best, but, we wanted to ensure that every single tree had the best chance of thriving long term.

Our contract manager Peter Mountford and team leader Dino Furtado were there on the day alongside the council team, speaking to residents and sharing advice on planting and aftercare.

This is the second year in a row that we’ve supported the Richmond giveaway, and we were delighted with the response. It’s been a great example of partnership working extending into broader community and environmental work.

A more practical way to support biodiversity

In our experience we have found that smaller, well-organised initiatives can still have a meaningful impact. Five hundred trees, spread across gardens in the local area, will add up over time.

That’s habitat for birds, butterflies, moths and many, many more species of local insects and animals.

For us, this is part of a broader approach to supporting our customers. The day-to-day work is vital, but we’re also looking for ways to work with our customers to help contribute to longer-term environmental and community goals in a practical, visible way.