NFU Mutual supports the Tree Council

Celebrating National Hedgerow Week and announcing our renewed partnership with The Tree Council.

NFU Mutual is proud to be a Tree Partner with The Tree Council from 2026, pledging to support the planting of more than a thousand trees over the next three years in schools and community projects the length and breadth of the country.

As part of our support for Thriving Rural Communities, NFU Mutual is not only providing financial support to establish new trees and hedgerows, we’ll also be giving our practical help too. Our employees will be volunteering their work time to help with planting and essential aftercare during the summer months to ensure their survival.

Sara Lom, CEO, The Tree Council said: “We are delighted to partner with NFU Mutual to do something truly wonderful for nature. Trees and hedgerows are heroes - they help tackle climate change, provide homes for thousands of species of precious wildlife, improve our health and wellbeing and so much more. By getting involved, NFU Mutual is helping to grow a greener, tree-filled future for all of us. We’re so grateful to them and all our Tree Partners.”

In March 2026, the NFU Mutual Cobham Agency got the partnership off to a good start with the first employee volunteering day, continuing to nurture a relationship that the agency first started with the charity 3 years ago.

The Cobham team lent a hand at a tree planting initiative at Pinkwell Primary School, a day which saw 1,000 trees planted, 100 square metres of bramble cleared and the ground prepped for the pupils to plant a new wildflower meadow in the spring.

Jack Coombes, Senior Customer Adviser, said: “At NFU Mutual Cobham, supporting our local community is at the heart of our ethos, so being able to take part in initiatives such as these that benefit the local communities and the wider environment, is central to what we do. A big thank you to everyone involved for giving their time and effort. It’s rewarding to play a small part in something that will have a lasting, positive impact.”  

In May, during National Hedgerow Week, NFU Mutual volunteers from our Stratford upon Avon Head Office also gave their help at Woodrush High School, Wythall. The team created a new community tree nursery hub with a wonderful willow hedgerow and shelterbelt zone, improving the outdoor classroom for teaching and training and developing their willow enterprise

Shaunna Bytheway, Claims Team Leader said: “Taking part in our volunteering day with The Tree Council at Woodrush High School was a fantastic way for us to step away from our desks, reconnect with nature, and truly ‘do our bit’ to support our local environment. As a team, we really valued the chance to get hands-on—supporting with weeding, mulching, and learning more about the vital role trees play in our ecosystem. It was also a great opportunity to connect with colleagues beyond our immediate team, which made the day even more rewarding from both a team and networking perspective. We left feeling proud of the difference we’d made and would absolutely welcome the opportunity to volunteer with The Tree Council again.”