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Pragmasis has been recognised with the ‘top prize’ by the Royal Forestry Society for its Alvecote Wood conservation project, run by owners Stephen Briggs and Sarah Walters.
Together the pair, alongside friends and volunteers, have planted over 6,000 trees on ex-arable land close to the business premises.
You may have read in the latest print edition of BikeBiz about UK security products manufacturer Pragmasis and its efforts to give something back to the environment with the development and upkeep of the woodland.
Briggs told BikeBiz: "The RFS have apparently struggled in the past to find small woodlands (up to 50 acres) that are being properly managed, with one camp believing it’s best left to its own devices (which it genuinely isn’t!), and the rest thinking they know it all and treating it like a big garden. They are writing us up as a case study to go in an educational section on the RFS web site as an illustration of best practice, so they can tell others to do what we’re doing! If that helps to raise awareness of the plight of ancient woodlands and how they should be protected and improved, then that would be fantastic and certainly right in line with one of our main priorities for undertaking the project from the start."
Alvecote Wood is found on the borders of Warwickshire and Tamworth and while often closed, is regularly opened to the public by Briggs and Walters for school groups, scouts and others.
Judges Tim Sawyer and Rob Guest praised the duo, for their work adding: "What really tipped it for us was the excellent new planting they have done in a field they bought adjacent to the mature woodland. They also have good regeneration of oaks in the mature woodlands, use their woodland produce and hold open days. It is one of the best small woodlands we have ever seen."
Though a keen cyclist himself, Briggs does warn that not all woodlands are suited to being used by the public, noting that in some cases mountain biking and walking can permanently damage sensitive forest land.
