Coeden Fach carried out a feasibility study in 2016 to consider the financial viability of a community led carbon offset project. We had a successful trial with our first carbon offset tree planting customer. However, as we are now moving to a new nursery site, this project is on hold at present.
Our first Carbon Offset Tree Planting Customers!
Shiko Community Drum Group
Our first carbon offsetting customers are Shiko, a community drum group based in Mumbles. Many group members live away from Mumbles and the group became concerned about their unavoidable travel emissions to and from their base at the Tabernacle on Newton Road. Nigel from Coeden Fach worked with the group to help calculate their approximate annual mileage to and from their weekly venue , he then worked out their carbon footprint and calculated how many trees they would need to plant to sequester their emissions.
Calculating Shiko’s carbon emissions
A tree over its lifetime will sequester around a ton of atmospheric carbon. Shiko’s group carbon footprint was calculated at around 3.5 tons of carbon from their combined group mileage of around 11,000 miles per annum. This means that roughly 3.5 trees would need to be planted to sequester this amount. As the group has been going for 17 years they decided to plant 17 times the 3.5 trees calculated for last years emissions, thus making them possibly the world’s first carbon neutral community drum group! The group paid for their trees by holding a group busk in the city centre during a council run street music event in early March (see below)
Shiko busking for their trees!
Planting their trees
The group planted their 60 trees on Sunday 19th March at a site near Ammanford. One of the group members, Jan Hilditch, added a further 20 trees to cover her personal business travel over the last year making a total of 80 trees comprising: 15 Rowan, 38 Hazel, 7 Spindle and 20 Field Maple. The weather was….Welsh! but this didn’t dampen the groups spirits as you can see from the photos- Well done Shiko!
