Julia Bradbury urges people to recycle Christmas cards at M&S to help plant more trees in Warwickshire

For every 1,000 cards dropped in to M&S stores for recycling throughout January, the retailer will fund the Woodland Trust to plant a tree.

The charity and M&S have set an ambitious target to collect and recycle more than six million Christmas cards, which would mean more than 6,000 new trees in the ground.

If everyone in Warwickshire recycled just one card it would help the Woodland Trust to plant more than 540 trees.

Tree cover in the county is just 6.58 per cent, compared to the national average of 13 per cent.

Julia is a former presenter of the BBC’s Countryfile and is currently setting up her own online The Outdoor Guide (www.theoutdoorguide.co.uk) – featuring a host of online resources for people who love the outdoors.

She said: “After an over-indulgent Christmas, there’s nothing better than a bracing winter walk to see in the New Year, and rediscover all our countryside has to offer - from stunning woodland, to the fascinating wildlife that calls it home. What’s great is that, by clearing out your Christmas cards and recycling them at M&S, we can help the Woodland Trust plant thousands more trees that will become lush, vibrant woods for future generations to explore and enjoy.”

The Woodland Trust’s Joanne Mathieson said: “Through collecting more than 32 million cards over the last four years, the public and M&S have helped us plant more than 32,000 trees. The beauty of the M&S Christmas Card Scheme lies in its simplicity. People simply need to collect up all their cards after Christmas, which are often lying about, take them to their local M&S store – there are bins in most stores – and M&S will do the rest.”

Alexis Steadman, Plan A Community Relations Manager at M&S said: “A key part of our ethical and environmental programme is helping our customers to live a more sustainable lifestyle, and this brilliant scheme plays an important role in this work. By simply popping into your local M&S and dropping your cards into the collection boxes, customers can help the Woodland Trust to continue turning unwanted waste into much needed trees and preserving the habitat of thousands of species all around the UK.”

Special card collection bins will be in M&S stores from January 2 to January 31 2016.

More details about the scheme are available at: www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/ccrs