A Day with Avon Needs Trees

This week, the Bath Bespoke team swapped the workshop for the woodland, spending a day volunteering with Avon Needs Trees, a charity dedicated to creating new, permanent woodland across the West of England.

Working at scale in the landscape is a very different experience to the precision of the workshop, but the principles feel closely aligned. Material, craft, and care all play their part. Instead of joinery benches and hand tools, the day involved spades, stakes, and a fair amount of mud (and sunshine, on an unseasonably warm March day).

Avon Needs Trees is working to address the climate and ecological crisis through the creation of permanent woodland, while also improving access to green space for local communities. Their approach is long-term and place-based, with each site designed to support biodiversity, landscape recovery, and public access. It’s thoughtful, practical work with a clear sense of purpose.

For us, it was an opportunity to step outside of the day-to-day and contribute to something beyond the boundaries of our usual projects, and that aligns with our commitment to sustainability. There’s something grounding about working directly with the land, particularly when the outcome won’t be fully realised for decades. It offers a different perspective on time, craft, and legacy.

Much of our work at Bath Bespoke is rooted in natural materials, particularly timber, so it felt especially meaningful to take part in the early stages of that lifecycle. From planting trees to crafting finished pieces, there’s a continuity there that’s easy to overlook in the rhythm of everyday work.

We’re grateful to the Avon Needs Trees team for having us, and for the work they’re doing across the region. If you’d like to learn more about their projects or support their efforts, check out their website or give them a follow on social media.