TreeStation, Manchester’s only community-owned tree surgery, wood fuel and timber co-operative, is to supply high quality, sustainable and locally sourced timber for Start Creative to make chopping boards for sale in John Lewis from July.
The hardwood timber, including ash, sycamore, elm and birch, is sourced from essential treework and woodland management carried out by TreeStation and other treework contractors in and around Greater Manchester.
The hand-crafted chopping boards are being made by volunteers at Start Creative, a social enterprise that offers opportunities for people who have experienced mental health difficulties. Start Creative, which is part of creative arts and wellbeing charity Start in Salford, is making chopping boards for eight of the largest John Lewis stores, including the Cheadle branch and johnlewis.com.
TreeStation Managing Director Phil Benn gave his reaction: “We have been working closely with Start Creative for a number of years and are delighted to supply timber for a charity that makes an important difference to so many local people.
“It is also a great opportunity to showcase our high quality, sustainably-sourced wood that is the product of every-day treework. Most contractors would simply chip the treework arisings or dispose of them. We are reminding people that they should be turned into something useful, at a time when so much timber and firewood is imported to the UK and often of dubious provenance.”
Stephen Cawley, Head of Sustainability at John Lewis said: “We are delighted to work with Start Creative to develop a hand crafted chopping board for our customers; each board will be unique, since the wood used varies depending on what wood is available at the TreeStation and they are individually made so they each have a personal touch attached to them.
“The sustainable story that sits behind these products is fantastic; they use TreeStation’s ethically sourced wood and support Start Creative’s community work. We look forward to launching the chopping boards in July.”
TreeStation provides a green solution to wood waste in the Greater Manchester area, and produces a range of quality timber and wood fuels exclusively made from local wood.