The Christmas Treecycling scheme from Sue Ryder has raised over £87,000 for the charity.
Teams from Gloucestershire-based Greenway Tree Care and Landscaping have been out and about across the county throughout January 2023 collecting real Christmas trees from people's front gardens and driveways in exchange for a donation to the charity, which provides palliative and bereavement care to families across the country, as well as operating the Sue Ryder Leckhampton Court Hospice in Cheltenham.
All the trees collected were chipped by Greenway, with some of the chippings being used to line the paths of the bluebell walk at Leckhampton Court Hospice.
More than 1,000 trees were collected in Gloucestershire by volunteers from 14 businesses in the county, contributing to a total of 5,822 trees collected across the country and £87,391 raised.
Community fundraising manager at Sue Ryder Leckhampton Court Hospice, Alysia Cameron-Price, said: 'We want to say a huge thank you to the local community for supporting our Christmas Treecycle scheme this year. It can be difficult to know what to do with your real tree once the festivities are over, but by recycling with us and making kind donations, you have helped to reduce landfill and raise vital funds so that we can continue to be there for families when it matters.
'We also want to show our appreciation to all of our volunteers for donating their time and for their incredible efforts and hard work – without their support we really couldn’t make the initiative happen.'
For more information about Sue Ryder and the important work it does in Gloucestershire and beyond, visit sueryder.org.
