20% of the profits made from all purchases with Chimney Balloon Co goes towards our Community Interest Company (CIC), Buy Land Plant Trees. This is a tree planting initiative run by ourselves. The money goes towards the planting of trees on agriculturally poor land in Cumbria. The same proportion of profits from sister company, Chimney Sheep, also goes to the organisation.
BLPT was set up to help you and us to reduce our impact on the planet. Before urbanisation, a lot of our landscape would have been covered in trees, so our mission is to try and put some of those trees back for the benefit of the environment.
We specifically buy land that is agriculturally poor (both for livestock and arable farming). As it’s a CIC, BLPT is “asset locked”. All the fields we buy and woodlands we create remain in ownership of the CIC for as far into the future as we can glimpse. The idea is to ensure the long-term preservation of not only the trees but the benefits they bring along with them.
Why we do it
- To capture CO2 in the atmosphere
- To reduce flooding in the area
- To reduce land erosion
- To create habitats for wildlife and increase biodiversity in the area
Our current pieces of land
Sally’s Wood, Bassenthwaite – a 7-acre field where we’ve planted 5,000 trees
13-Acre Wood, Bassenthwaite – a 13-acre field where we’ve planted 25,000 trees
Crabtree Beck, Low Fell – 100-acre piece of land on a fell where we’ve planted 100,000 trees
Raven Crag, Low Fell – a 58-acre piece of land on a feell where we’re currently planting 200,000 trees