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RSA and Cartridge World team up to plant trees in The National Forest

The national body of the RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Art, Manufactures and Commerce) celebrated its 250th anniversary by creating a new woodland in The National Forest. Senior Fellows and Directors from across the country helped to plant their trees.

The celebration has great historic significance: from the 1750s through to the 1820s the RSA encouraged tree planting across the UK. Well over 50 million trees were planted giving rise to many of the woods enjoyed in Britain today.

The RSA worked in partnership with the UK's key tree planting organisations, including the National Forest Company, to plant 250,000 trees to mark its 250th Anniversary. Here in The National Forest, they planted over 30,000 trees on a Forestry Commission woodland at Castle Gresley, near Swadlincote.

"The RSA is extremely proud of its 18th century achievement of arranging the planting of over 50 million trees. This new initiative in our 250th anniversary year is designed to celebrate that achievement and to provide a lasting legacy for the future," said Sir Paul Judge, Chairman RSA.

The initiative was generously supported by a very 21st century organisation, Cartridge World, through its own national campaign “Plant a Tree, not a cartridge”. By encouraging customers to ‘refill not landfill’, Cartridge World has already saved over 3.1 million printer cartridges from going to landfill.

Local franchisees from Cartridge World stores in Derby, Nottingham and Burton upon Trent ‘planted a tree, not a cartridge’ on the day.

David Parkinson, Cartridge World’s UK master franchisee, said: “We are delighted to be supporting the RSA particularly as it celebrates its 250th anniversary and working with them in their aim to help create a zero-waste society. By linking with the RSA we hope to help the environment even further by hitting our target of planting 6,000 trees over the next 12 months.”

The National Forest Company, said: “We are delighted that such a distinguished body as the RSA is creating a woodland here in The National Forest. To think that over 200 years ago, the predecessors of our partners today created much of the landscape we have all grown up with is truly remarkable, particularly in view of the scale of landscape change we are creating over the whole National Forest area.”