Press Release - for immediate release

Thursday 21st November

STC Expeditions hatches tree planting project to plant one tree per traveller

STC Expeditions, a leading ethical schools tour operator, has announced the launch of a tree planting project, pledging to plant one tree for every person that travels with the company.

Partnering with Scottish charity, Trees for Life http://treesforlife.org.uk, the Exeter based travel company wanted to build on its already strong commitment to sustainable travel which has been a driver of the business since it started out in 2006.

Adrian Ferraro from STC Expeditions says: “We already do a great deal to be a sustainable travel company and to educate our travellers on how to travel ethically, but we recognise that, while travel has a positive, economic, social and cultural impact, we’re in an industry that does have a negative environmental effect.

“We already include a compulsory CO₂ mitigation scheme for all our clients, working with the UK charity, Friends of Conservation, whose schemes work through a combination of reforestation, carbon reduction programmes and carbon lock-up schemes in Peru, Kenya and India. However, tree planting in this country, seemed a great additional project.

“There are lots of tree planting schemes both in the UK and abroad, but we were attracted to the Scottish charity, Trees for Life, as their goal is all about the long term re-wilding of native species, which has a positive impact on the whole ecosystem, so we’re not just contributing to carbon capture. They are also not planting trees for ‘plantations’ which could subsequently be used for wood and timber. What’s more, the charity is based in the Scottish Highlands, which is a special place for many of us in the office.

“In pledging our commitment to this project, we wanted to take a lead in the industry and shine a light on what a forward thinking and responsible travel company can do to ensure their environmental impact is minimised.”

“Not only are we trying to do the right thing from an ethical standpoint, but we believe schools are responding to this ethos. Over the last year, we have noted a sales increase of 55% compared to last year - evidence, we believe, that schools are now placing ethics and sustainability as a high priority when deciding on their next school trip or expedition.”

Colin Mackenzie-Blackman of Trees for Life said: “We're very grateful that STC Expeditions has chosen to support Trees for Life and our mission to rewild the Scottish Highlands. As an organisation with young people at its centre, it is heartening that STC Expeditions has joined with us in our efforts to create a legacy in the Scottish Highlands through which wildlife can flourish and communities can thrive.”

STC Expeditions has its own corporate ‘Grove’ on the Trees for Life website, which shows how many trees have been planted overall, as well as being able to dedicate each tree or group of trees to a specific individual or school group that has travelled with the company. They have also agreed to plant trees retrospectively for clients that have travelled since the start of 2019.

For more information on Trees for Life, please visit: https://treesforlife.org.uk/

For more on STC Expeditions and its responsible tourism policy, please visit: https://www.thestc.co.uk/travel/

-ends-