Lake District charity Friends of the Lake District was delighted to receive a cheque last week for £7,000 from north-west restaurant chain, Olive Tree Brasserie. 

Customers of the Greek/Mediterranean style restaurant were invited to add a small donation of £1 to their bills to fund tree and hay meadow planting on the charity’s land at High Borrowdale near Kendal. 

The donation will help to fund the planting of approximately 6,000 more upland hay meadow flowers; allowing the meadows to support even more wildlife and store more carbon. It will also fund the planting of 1,000 more native trees to further increase biodiversity and carbon storage.

Olive Tree Brasserie's Environmental Ambassador, Mary Scotford (pictured left) presented the cheque to Friends of the Lake District’s Land Manager, Jan Darrall (pictured right) at High Borrowdale. They were joined by Olive Tree Brasserie staff and Friends of the Lake District work party volunteers for a day of tree planting.

Mary Scotford said:

“Although the company regularly donates money for tree planting around the world, we were inspired by our Director Dean Wilson and his love of the Lake District. This led us to committing to making a difference at a more local level.

“We could see that Jan and the team were so knowledgeable, passionate and forward thinking when it came to protecting and enhancing the landscapes around us. It’s great to know that the money will be well spent, and we can’t wait to visit High Borrowdale again soon.”

Jan Darrall said:

“It was wonderful to be able to put the donation into action straight away as we spent the day planting trees with the Olive Tree Brasserie team and our regular volunteers.

“We are incredibly grateful to Olive Tree Brasserie and their customers for such a generous gift.”

 Read more about Friends of the Lake District’s work at High Borrowdale and its other properties across Cumbria:

www.friendsofthelakedistrict.org.uk/land-managers-diary