Speedy Hire brought together a variety of business partners to tackle conservation work at the Castle Howard Arboretum. Employees from Amey, Arup, Network Rail, and TransPennine Express, all working on the TransPennine Route Upgrade (TRU), joined GreenTheUK for a day of social value and conservation.

Arriving at the Castle Howard Arboretum in the morning, the teams got to know each other over tea and coffee. Following a safety briefing and introduction with the Castle Howard Arboretum staff, the group headed out to begin their conservation work. A grove of willow trees needed to be coppiced to prevent overgrowth and crowding of a protected species growing nearby. Speedy Hire's coalition of volunteers made swift work of the willow trees, cutting back approximately 3 years of growth, creating more space and light for wildlife and other plant species to thrive. The willows will regrow in time, and the process will need to be repeated in years to come.

Following an intense morning of coppicing, the team enjoyed a catered lunch at the Arboretum cafe and was joined by a confusion (or flock) of guinea fowl which roam across the Castle Howard Estate.

After lunch, the team enjoyed a guided tour of the Arboretum, learning about the incredible variety of species growing on site and the history of the Arboretum. Some of the most notable trees on site are the Wollemi Pines, a critically endangered species that is native to only a few remote gorges in Australia. Fewer than 60 adult trees are known to be growing in the wild, and their locations are kept secret from the public. A global effort to grow clones of the trees in botanical gardens and arboretums has been carried out to protect the species, which are heavily at risk from wildfires and fungus.

Finally, the team visited the red squirrel enclosure to visit Dave, short for David Attenborough, the Arboretum's resident red squirrel. Dave is part of a breeding programme at the Arboretum to help boost the population of red squirrels across the UK, which are endangered in England and Wales.

A massive thank you to Speedy Hire for your support of conservation work and for bringing together teams from across the TRU to lend a hand in keeping an important woodland site healthy.