Once again, Liverpool Nature Recovery Ranger, Nick White, has supported Woodlands Hospice with their annual Christmas Tree Recycling fundraiser. This year’s initiative saw more than 400 trees collected, raising over £6,000 to help sustain the hospice’s vital services.
Nick arranged with Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (LUHFT) for the trees to be dropped off at Aintree Hospital. The project was supported by one of LUHFT’s main contractors, BAM Construction. Sam Cooper, BAM Social Values Manager, organised for the trees to be transported to the Fylde Coast where they will be used in a sand dune restoration project led by the Lancashire Wildlife Trust. Local company G Williams Civil Engineering also joined the effort, generously providing staff and a wagon to help move the trees to site.
In February, Nick and Sam will join a team of Lancashire Wildlife Trust volunteers to lay the trees behind the dunes, where they will function as natural sand traps. The project will help to rebuild dune height and shape and create the right conditions for native dune grasses to recolonise and thrive.
This collaborative project demonstrates how healthcare partners can support both circular resource use and nature recovery, aligning with the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare’s focus on low‑carbon, nature-based approaches that benefit patients, staff and local communities.
Reflecting on the partnership, Nick said: “This initiative really shows what can be achieved when local organisations work together. It’s inspiring to see Christmas trees that once brightened people’s homes now helping to restore our coastal landscapes rather than entering the waste stream, supporting both community wellbeing and biodiversity in the process.”