ELMTREE GARDEN CONTRACTORS ANNOUNCE SUPPORT FOR A CAMPAIGN APPROPRIATELY TO ‘RE-ELM THE BRITISH COUNTRYSIDE’.

Bristol-based company took its name from the tree that flourished across the country but the species was totally decimated by Dutch Elm disease. Within a few years in the early 1970s almost every Elm tree had been wiped out in the UK.

But over the past 30 years Hampshire based company Hillier have been planting a new Elm tree, that has proved Dutch Elm disease resistant. Ulmus (elm) ‘New Horizon’ is a ‘Resista’-elm species.

Now Hillier is aiming to expand the presence of this glorious elm by planting a number of elm stands throughout Great Britain; giving a new generation of nature lovers the chance to see elms once again.

A new campaign for Hiller, called, “Re-Elming the British Countryside”, was unveiled at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show when Adam Dunnett, sales director at Hiller Trees, handed over the first sapling of the campaign to Dame Judi Dench on ‘The Stihl Hiller Garden’. This sapling will be one of the 20 planted at the National Memorial Arboretum.

Hillier hopes to encourage more organisations and individuals to work with them to establish stands, plantations and even woods of the disease resistant elms throughout Britain.
“It is unlikely that many people in Britain under the age of 60 will recall seeing a stand of mature English elm trees” says Adam, sadly, the few remaining examples still growing in isolated sites around the country remain highly vulnerable to Dutch elm disease, which attacks them as they begin to reach maturity.
Hiller have developed an elm tree that fills the environmental void left by the demise of Ulmus ‘minor var. vulgaris’ and hope to see it widely adopted around Britain.
Elmtree Managing Director Paul Lynch says “given the name of our company and that while our company blossomed in the early 70s while the Elm trees across the UK died we thought that it was only fitting that we supported this campaign to help see our countryside thrive once more with our Chairman and Founder Keith Lynch’s favourite tree”.

Keith Lynch set up Elmtree Garden Contractors in 1969 when originally working as a firefighter with Avon Fire Brigade, in those days many firefighters would take on second job that they could do when they were not working during the day. Keith and another Fireman, Earnie, decided to start a landscaping gardening company and thus Elmtree Garden Contractors was born.

Keith already had good knowledge in working in the land and loved the outdoors. He had a background in farming and from the ages of 12-19 before he joined the fire service he had carried out some turfing work for a famer in the area now known as Cribbs Causeway, Bristol. So for Keith landscaping was an obvious choice.

When deciding on a name, Keith and Ernie were in a back room in Keith’s house in Kingswood, Bristol, thrashing ideas around. They decided upon the name Elmtree. The Elm Tree (latin name Ulmus) was a popular tree native to Britain. This was in the days before the species was decimated by Dutch Elm disease, but Elmtree Garden Contractors did not suffer the same fate. It continued to grow and grow.

They started by picked up a couple of commercial contracts for housebuilders and some grass cutting contracts for Bristol City Council. Ernie was however promoted to a more senior position within the Fire Service which meant he had to work days for a year, so Keith bought out Ernie’s share of Elmtree.

The rest is history. Paul Lynch worked for Elmtree during his school holidays, and joined Elmtree after finishing his A-Levels. He then went to Pershore College for a year and completed a National Certificate of Horticulture, with Distinction. Paul then joined the company full time and is now Managing Director.

Paul is keen to support Hiller in its campaign particularly because of the important environmental benefits that the new tree hosts the butterflies and insects that inhabited and fed off the traditional elm. Although we cannot replace it, Paul and Adam both believe that Ulmus ‘New Horizon’ can fill the gap and we will be able to see them back in our countryside over the next several years.

“Ulmus ‘New Horizon’ is a fantastic tree that can tolerate almost anything you throw at it, from floods and pollution to poor soil and frost. It is extremely hard waring and suited for urban locations including housing developments, car parks, central reservations plus rural avenues or woodlands. It will also thrive in coastal spots so is a fantastic tree to get back across Britain.

For more information on Hiller, read more here:

https://www.hillier.co.uk/trees/products/

LEATHERJACKETS

Leatherjackets are about 1″ long, greyish black in colour, legless and with no distinct head. In August many people report clouds of daddy long legs emerging from lawns in early morning and this is a sure sign of leatherjacket infestation.

If your lawn appears patchy and starts to die off in between December – March, there is a good chance it is infected with Leatherjackets. If this is the case, you need to act straight away as if left untouched, your whole lawn could be eaten away.

LIFE CYCLE

Leatherjackets are the larval stage of the European Marsh Crane Fly, commonly known as Daddy Long Legs. In late summer, adult crane flies emerge from the soil, mate and lay their eggs. The eggs hatch within two weeks. The eggs require moisture and a temperature of at least 14 degrees Celsius before hatching into the larval stage. Many leatherjackets do not survive the winter especially if exposed to cold, dry conditions. They cause damage to roots, mainly grass, by feeding on them in late Autumn and early Spring when they enter the final larval growth stage. This will continue until early summer when they enter the pupal stage. Adult crane flies then emerge approximately two weeks later.

JUNE-AUGUST

They have stopped damaging lawns now and will be in their final larval growth stage before they enter the pupal stage and emerge as Crane flies, or Daddy Long Legs, two weeks later. These pesky things will mate and lay their eggs in the soil and start to feed on roots of grass in the Autumn.

If your lawn is free draining, there is much less likelihood of them surviving, as they love wet and damp conditions.

The best ways to control leatherjackets is Chemically using Nematodes, which can be bought easily off the internet. You can also remove them manually, using a net, rake or by handpicking. We suggest you either crush those collected of place then in soapy water.

The removal of wet conditions and keeping your lawn in good condition by frequent mowing and aerating using a garden fork should also help as a preventative measure in reducing the numbers of leatherjackets present.

APPRENTICESHIP OPPORTUNITY

Are you leaving school or college this year? Do you like the outdoors? Do you want to learn a trade with an award-winning landscaping company? If you answered yes to all of these questions it could be YOU that we are looking for!

We currently have vacancies for apprentices in our Ground Maintenance division.

Our apprenticeship scheme provides a perfect way to earn a wage while gaining vital work experience and a nationally recognised qualification.

This is your chance to receive excellent training and personal development from a company that is highly regarded in its industry.

Elmtree has a history of retaining long standing employees whilst providing a great and variable carer. You will be fully supported and mentored throughout your apprenticeship and be given the knowledge you need to succeed in the landscaping industry. We will support you through your apprenticeship with us so you are fully qualified. Many of our previous apprentices have in fact become permanent members of staff and have worked their way through the company even becoming managers.

So if you don’t want to sit at a desk for the rest of your life and you want to be proud of what you do get in touch with us and start building your future with an apprenticeship with us; you’ll find the sky’s the limit!

Email: info@elmtreegarden.co.uk
Phone: 01454633560

A-MAY-ZING MONTH

May has been super busy and super fun. We’ve had lots going on, especially with a big push for Mental Health Awareness Week.

We are dedicated to investing in our employees and how we can improve mental wellbeing in the workplace.

It is said that one in six workers in the UK is experiencing depression, anxiety or stress. UK research suggests that 350,000 people work in construction at any one time and in a sector with a higher percentage of male workers we wanted to highlight the specific risks associated for men and poor mental health. Statistics also show that suicide is now the leading cause of death in men between 15 and 49, and they are often in employment. For this reason, we wanted to make sure our team feels supported and educated with mental wellness.

As part of Mental Health Awareness Week, we took a topic each day to show our staff that there will always be someone close by at work who can help and who might be feeling in a similar way. Our message for the week was that ‘its ok not to be ok’ and that talking about mental health is key and nothing to be ashamed of. We wanted to show our team that mental wellbeing means not just feeling good but also being able to share what’s going on with others in an open no judgemental way.

We often think that the mind and body are separate. But what you do with your body can have a powerful effect on your mental wellbeing. Evidence shows there’s a link between being physically active and good mental wellbeing but being active doesn’t mean you need to spend hours in the gym, it’s about finding something that suites you that you enjoy. On one of the days we gave our team a 30 minute personal training session, we wanted to encourage fun exercise and help boost energy in the morning. It was a great success and proved to be a fun way to start the day and boost the mind too!

We then had another morning sharing personal stories and experiences of mental health, stress and depression with each other. Our Managing Director Paul kicked off the session by sharing a particular time he felt really stressed and under too much pressure. We hoped by sharing personal situations will show our team that talking about mental wellbeing is a strength, not a weakness and that sharing stories can also help to share the burden.

Throughout the rest of the week we had a quiz to get our team talking with each other to help to reduce the stigma that can often be attached to mental health, especially in a male dominated industry and then we rounded the week off by doing an act of kindness. Research into actions for promoting happiness has shown that committing an act of kindness once a week over a six-week period is associated with an increase in wellbeing. So our act to our team was an early finish while still getting paid so that time could be spent with friends and family.

Social relationships are vital for promoting wellbeing and loneliness is a contributing factor for an increase in poor mental health. All in all a very successful week with some really positive feedback.

In other Elmtree news this month we were delighted to win Sub-Contractor of the Year for 2019 at the charity dinner awards ceremony for Crest Nicholson.

We also took new photos at the Wild Place Project to show the progression of the walkway that we are constructing. It’s safe to say there have been huge developments since our photographer last visited and the photos went down well when uploaded to our social media pages. Have a look and see for yourself. The Bear Walk Project will be complete next month so watch this space!

If you haven’t already also check out pages 27 to 29 of May 2019 edition of Pro Landscaper Magazine to discover the article ‘Let’s Hear it from Paul Lynch’ from our MD.

Elmtree also announced that we are supporting Circus-Starr Spring 2019 tour. The community interest company are dedicated to making a difference to the lives of vulnerable and disadvantaged children in Bristol through the magical art of circus. We love supporting our community, and this accessible and inclusive event is such a worthy cause. We were able to cover the cost of tickets for 10 children to see the show as well as supporting the event by taking up the social media package.

Circus-Starr aims to create a relaxed environment for local disadvantaged and vulnerable children. A place where it doesn’t matter what your needs are, a place where you will feel welcome and have fun!

This year they have introduced more exciting performances that are especially suitable for children who are deaf or visually impaired. By offering signed and audio described shows, making the art of circus accessible to more children than ever before! This year the Bristol show will feature a Signed Performance too.

Elmtree are proud to support Circus Starr, not only is it an inclusive show, but also a world class performance, full of breath-taking acts that hope to fuel the imaginations of children from schools, organisations, and hospices in the local area. This year’s show will be held at Keynsham Rugby Club, Crown Fields, Bristol Road, Keynsham, Bristol, BS31 2BE, on Saturday 1st June 2019.

As we strive to forge greater relationships with our local community as part of our social responsibility this month we were happy to strengthen our friendship with our neighbours at St Peters Primary school in Pilning. We provided emergency repair work to the school playground steps and were lucky enough to even have the headteacher visit us on site at the Wild Place Project with some refreshments! A massive ‘Thank You’ for that! It was much appreciated by our team!

That’s it for our May round up …… This month’s top tip: Don’t forget to keep an eye out for any Japanese Knotweed in your gardens. It’s fairly easily identifiable by the heart shaped leaves and hollow stems, but if you’re not sure you can send us a photo and we will let you know if it looks like Knotweed!

APRIL SHOWERS

April may have had its fair share of inevitable showers, but we were lucky enough to have sunny spells and over the bank holiday weekend and got a real sense of that ‘summer feeling’. In true British style during the first hint of warm weather we witnessed picnics in the park, the smell of BBQs, the sound of grass being cut and I’m sure we all know someone who got that little bit too sunburnt and ended up a scorching shade of red!

However, you prepare for summer, whether by stock piling sunscreen or getting your summer clothes out be sure to pay attention to the garden. After all its where most people will want to spend their free time once the warm weather returns.

April is a busy month for Elmtree, with our Grounds Maintenance team working hard now that the grass is growing quicker but if you are maintaining your own gardens then here are some quick tips that we also shared on Facebook to keep your grass looking great!

1) Start your lawn mowing with a high cut preferably on dry grass if possible.

2) Mow frequently

3) Never remove more than one third of the grass length on any one occasion

4) Each run up the lawn with the lawn mower should slightly overlap the previous one; put a mark on each side of the mower as your ‘overlap marker’

5) If you want ‘straight stripes’ on a large lawn or a lawn without a straight edge begin by mowing a straight line down the middle of the lawn. Now mow on either side of it

6) Don’t worry about cutting ALL the grass at the edges of the lawn; if you do a final cut all around the perimeter of the lawn once or twice you’ll get all the end bits and add a ‘professional’ frame to your lawn mowing

7) If the grass is damp or long slow down your speed (not the blade speed!!!)

8) Mow slopes and shady areas one setting higher than the rest of the lawn

9) If your grass is still looking a bit tired from winter then it can benefit from a granular or liquid Spring feed. This will have a high nitrogen content that will green your lawn up.

Over the next few weeks you will want to ensure you get the most out of your garden, so as May arrives play close attention to the lawn mowing regime as well as concentrating on planting summer bedding plants and pots. Despite the weather getting warmer watch out for late frosts by protecting tender plants.

Now is a great time to mulch beds and borders in order to supress weeds and of course keep up with watering of thirsty vegetables and plants. Remember to try and recycle water where possible. It is also the time to earth up potatoes and plant any still remaining.

Don’t forget to check plant leaves for pests too and treat if needed and insure you check for nesting birds before clipping any hedges.

With these tips you will be sure to be on track with gardening duties in order to see the best results in later months.

As for what’s been going on for Elmtree here is a quick recap of what we have been up to during April.

At the beginning of the month we had a fantastic night celebrating the Bristol Young Hero Awards and seeing the amazing achievements of all nominees. A huge congratulations to Catherine Rowe @infoYouthmoves who won The Environmental Hero Award that we sponsored.

We also extend our thanks to the Wild Place Project for a memorable preview of the sculpture trail. We had a great time discovering the individually designed bears and seeing our sponsored bear ‘Woody’ in his new home! All 20 bears are now positioned throughout the Wild Place Project as part of the new Bear Wood Bear Trail opening this Spring. To find out more about the bear trail at Wild Place Project visit www.wildplace.org.uk/bearwood

You may remember the competition for local school children to win passes for the Wild Place Project than we ran in conjunction with St Peters Primary school in Pilning last month. We were excited to be invited along to help judge the competition and attend the end of week assembly to hand out the prizes. Elmtree are keen to help get local children interested in wildlife and conservation and thought that donating family passes was the perfect way to help raise awareness and bring excitement about the bears that are coming to the Wild Place Project this year.

We were also pleased to be sponsoring Thornbury Town’s final home game of the season. Getting involved in the community around us is so important and it’s a real privilege.

Lastly for this month’s round up, our team have now completed the sales and marketing projects at two sites. Blackberry Hill for our client Galliford Try, marketed as Linden Homes and also at the latest development to be built by Kier Living as part of the Hengrove Park, Bristol regeneration scheme. ‘Urban Quarter’ which will provide 261 homes in the area.

All in all, a great month. We are very much looking forward to seeing what May ‘may’ bring!!!

SPRING IS IN OUR STEP!

As you may or may not know, (depending on if you follow us on Facebook!) March 2019 has been filled with a variety of celebrations and successes for Elmtree.

Firstly, Mark Harris aka ‘Harry’ is due a massive congratulations as this month he reached his amazing 20-year work anniversary!! He started at Elmtree as a landscape operative. Over the years he has worked his way up to Senior Landscape Supervisor and has now been doing a fantastic job as Landscape Manager for the last five years.

It’s great to see people come up through the ranks at Elmtree and stay with us for such a long time, we must be doing something right! Harry is joined in long service by several others, such as Graham Robbins (25-year anniversary in 2020), Dean Rowley (38 years’ service), Richard Coole (13 years current service, although originally started with us at age 16), Lynn Morgan in the office (21 years), and Paul Lynch (27 years).

We would like to extend our gratitude to all our team, for your hard work and dedication to the company. You are all an asset to Elmtree and we wouldn’t be without you!

This month we also recognised the success of Tom Hanson for passing his SMSTS course through Knight Learning. Tom is one of our senior landscape supervisors. The Site Management Safety Training Scheme (SMSTS) is an industry recognised course providing health and safety compliance which also gives all the relevant knowledge required to meet today’s legislative demands. Tom completed his course and we look forward to presenting him with his certificate! Hopefully we might even get a photo if he’s not too shy! Tom is a busy man at the moment as his partner has just had their second baby daughter, so he is on paternity leave.

Elmtree have also pledged to support the Skills West Project. We have offered to be part of the Business West initiative and help to forge links between employers, educators and training providers in the South West. We are providing a range of different activities from work based shadowing and work experience to fully fledged apprenticeship schemes.

Business West is about opening up the lines of communication between education providers, support agencies and employers and we are keen to help aid increase interest in our industry. Offering support to the Skills West Project will help to building stronger links with local community and promoting a more diverse workforce. It’s an exciting project to be involved in, we feel we are able to help talent spot and offer young people a ‘work ready’ learning activity.

This month also saw National Apprenticeship Week being recognised. We still have vacancies available for our apprenticeship scheme and have also been trialling a potential candidate to see if he enjoys the role. Apprenticeships are an excellent way to learn on the job, progress and shape your career.

Take Peter Reeves as an example. Peter came to us in 2002 on a week’s work experience when he was still at school. He enjoyed his taster week and so we offered him an apprenticeship when he finished school. We took him on permanently after he successfully completed his apprenticeship. Today Peter is married with two children and is one of Elmtrees most skilled landscaping team members. He does most of our machine work, is fully qualified to use excavators up to 10 tonnes, dumpers and JCBs all of which he learnt whist with us.

Elmtree are passionate about providing the training needed to be successful. Apprenticeships are an exciting opportunity to be part of a program that incorporates on the job training and learning. They focus on developing the skills and knowledge required whilst giving confidence to allow the true behaviours of the individual to be successful in the workforce of the future. Not only that but apprenticeships give the opportunity to have a hands on approach to learning and are very respected in our industry.

Elmtree have recently struck up a partnership with St Peters Primary school, a local school near us in Pilning. We are proving essential ground maintenance work to the school environment and have also donated four firepit logs for classes to use during their outdoor sessions. We have also started an exciting competition; the prize being three annual family passes to the Wild Place (with free entry into Bristol zoo too!) The new ‘Bear Wood’ attraction that we have been working on is opening this summer so to celebrate this we have asked the local school children to design their own bear. Representatives from Elmtree and the Wild Place will also be visiting the school to judge with the headteacher and hand out the prizes to the three lucky winners!

In other news we have taken on three new vehicles to help us through the upcoming season and the keep our fleet up to date. If you haven’t already check out our Facebook page to see our new team photos. Theses photos will also be featured in the next edition of Pro Landscaper magazine following on from an interview that took place with Elmtree. Look out for the next edition to see the article on us!

ELMTREE CONTINUE TO BE RECOGNISED AS AN INVESTOR IN PEOPLE

Elmtree Garden Contractors Ltd, Bristol based Landscaping and Ground Maintenance Services has been awarded accreditation in their reassessment against the Investors in People Standard, demonstrating their commitment to realising the potential of their people.

The company has grown over the past 50 years and is continuing to develop its landscaping and ground maintenance services to include contracts with housing developers as well as developing new markets including schools, hospitals and business parks. With offices based in rural Bristol, Elmtree has approximately 50 employees and is excited to be celebrating it’s 50th year of business. Elmtree have increased is size considerable within the last 5 years, and this has been challenging to do whilst at the same time supporting all employees and ensuring that the values of the company are not compromised and all staff feel respected. Elmtree strive to lead the way within their industry, for example becoming one of the first to have qualified Mental Health First Aiders within the company.

Investors in People is the international standard for people management, defining what it takes to lead, support and manage people effectively to achieve sustainable results. Underpinning the Standard is the Investors in People framework, reflecting the latest workplace trends, essential skills and effective structures required to outperform in any industry. Working with clients across the globe, Investors in People enables organisations to benchmark against the best in the business on an international scale.

Paul Devoy, Head of Investors in People, said: “We’d like to congratulate Elmtree, Investors in People accreditation is the sign of a great employer, and an organisation committed to achieving success by realising the potential of their people. Elmtree should be extremely proud of their achievement.”

Commenting on the award, Paul Lynch, Managing Director said: “We are delighted to have our commitment to our people confirmed again. Investors in People has been a big part of our growth over the last 8 years, even prior to our first assessment in 2012. We have learned a lot as a company in how to manage our biggest asset (our people), ensure they develop to their potential and feel valued”.

IF YOU GO DOWN TO THE WOODS TODAY…

Elmtree Garden Contractors are the proud sponsors of a life-size painted bear sculpture set to go on display at Wild Place Project this spring.

The bear will be part of a trail of 20 individually hand-painted 3D bears placed around the South Gloucestershire attraction, greeting visitors from April 6 until September 2019.

Visitors will be able to follow a route around the park, to discover the 6ft (1.8m) tall bears, each of which is now being individually designed and decorated by a team of talented artists.

‘Woody’ the bear has been painted by talented mural artist, Donna Newman who is based in the Midlands. The design chosen is a celebration of Britain’s woodlands and promotes the message of conservation. It features woodland creatures and threatened native species of wildlife.

Elmtree have generously sponsored the bear as part of a fundraising campaign for Wild Place Project’s exciting new exhibit, Bear Wood, which is now being created at the attraction.

Elmtree Director Marcus Bird said: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with Wild Place Project on this fantastic summer sculpture trail, and very excited to have our own bear designed and painted.”

Dr Justin Morris, chief executive of Bristol Zoological Society, said: “We are very much looking forward to unveiling our bear sculpture trail this spring and are very grateful to Elmtree for their support of this fantastic event. We hope these colourful sculptures will be enjoyed by thousands of visitors to Wild Place Project over the spring and summer months.”

The new bear sculpture trail is being run in conjunction with Wild in Art, who developed the hugely successful Wow! Gorillas trail with Bristol Zoo Gardens in 2011, to celebrate the Zoo’s 175th birthday.

Nigel Simpson, head of operations at Wild Place Project, said: “The bear sculpture trail is a fantastic collaboration between Wild Place Project and many of our partners and supporters.”

“It promises to be an exciting discovery trail around the attraction as visitors will be able to tick off the bears as they find them, and take part in activities associated with the trail. It will be a wonderful prelude to the arrival of real bears later this year.”

He added: “There is a great deal in store for our visitors throughout 2019 as Wild Place Project continues to grow and develop, and we are immensely grateful to all of our visitors, members, partners and supporters for helping us get to where we are today.”

The sculpture trail comes ahead of the arrival of real European brown bears at the attraction, as a new exhibit called Bear Wood opens at Wild Place Project July. All 20 bear sculptures have been sponsored by local organisations as part of a fundraising campaign for Bear Wood.

Work is now underway creating the impressive new exhibit, which will also be home to wolves, lynx and wolverine and which promises to be the best bear exhibit in the country.

Elmtree are busy constructing a raised timber walkway 800 metres long that winds through the trees where visitors will be able to see bears below them in the woods. Visitors will be able to walk through the seven and a half acre exhibit on the raised walkway. New, 180-degree, floor-to-ceiling glass viewing areas and ‘dens’ will give visitors an up-close view of the animals living alongside each other in British woodland as they would have done in years gone by.

Bear Wood will transport visitors back to a time when these magnificent creatures roamed the UK countryside, taking them on a journey through the ages, to the present day, while showing the effects of woodland loss on our native wildlife.

Bear Wood is the story of what was, where we are now and what is still at stake. It will inspire visitors to protect our woodland for the native species that call it home, whilst helping to preserve this vital woodland habitat for future generations to enjoy.

To find out more about the bear trail at Wild Place Project visit www.wildplace.org.uk/bearwood

THE PRO LANDSCAPER BUSINESS AWARDS

February may be typically known as the month where we celebrate love and appreciation of those nearest and dearest to us but for Elmtree it has become the month where we have been honoured to receive not just one but two awards that celebrate our success and recognises our contribution to the UK landscaping industry.

We were extremely excited at the beginning of 2019 to announce that we had been shortlisted for the Pro Landscaper Business Awards which took place in Canary Wharf, London 2019. It was the second-ever award ceremony, highlighting leading landscaping companies with over 15 separate categories. The awards showcased business which raises the standard of the UK landscaping sector.

To win was a complete shock! We are ecstatic and extremely proud to win not only the category that we entered (Landscaping Business with a £2-10million Turnover) but we were also presented with the overall prize on the day of Supreme Winner.

The awards mean so much to us all at Elmtree and we are so grateful for the recognition. The award entry paid particular attention to the way the overall business is run and looked at all areas from processes and development right through to commitment to the industry too and to staff training. It also looked at social responsibility and relationships with suppliers, all of which we strive to do in an exceptional way, giving our all.

Celebrating our 50th Anniversary in 2019, Elmtree believes we have really made a difference to the industry and to be awarded this prestigious award is a real honour. We have stood the test of time within the horticultural industry and through some difficult trading conditions and testing economic times. We are passionate about what we do, the customers we serve, and the people who ultimately enjoy the end products we work hard to achieve.

We have grown considerably since establishing in 1969, but we do not take this for granted: We strive to always deliver excellent customer service. We forge strong, long-lasting relationships with our clients, taking a partnership approach to collaboratively deliver great projects.

Our family ethos has retained a loyal workforce. We ‘re dedicated to supporting and upskilling our people. Our company-wide Teamwork Standard brings everyone together to achieve the company’s aims and objectives.

Elmtree is immersed in the community, we have a social conscience and overriding desire to improve the economic, social and environmental well-being of people in the geographies we operate. This includes providing local employment, use of suppliers, volunteering and charity support.

It is for our staff that we entered these awards. They really are the best and deserve to be independently recognised for not only their commitment and loyalty to Elmtree but also their passion for the industry, always supporting and championing it. We can’t thank them enough and we are simply over the moon to achieve the accolade this award provides.

We would like to thank Jim Wilkinson and the staff at Pro Landscaper for putting on such a fantastic awards ceremony. We are extremely humbled to win and we would like to thank all those involved in the process, including the judges who said;

“This is an equal opportunities employer that is dedicated to continuous improvement of skills. Significant CSR activity at a range of levels. A shining example of a company that recognises that business isn’t just about profit. Elm Tree Garden Contractors and passionate about the landscaping and horticulture sector and are making a continued impact on the industry. Very impressive customer testimonials in a tough commercial sector.”

Elmtree would also like to extend a special thank you to the headline sponsor CED Stone Group for awarding us the title of ‘Supreme Winner’, out of all the other winners. It is a privilege and we are earnestly grateful for the recognition of our work and dedication to the industry and our staff.

2019 is a really exciting year, we look forward to sharing more with you during our 50th anniversary year.

https://prolandscapermagazine.com/winners-announced/

LIVEWEST CONTRACT RELEASE

Bristol based landscaping company Elmtree Garden Contractors has won a 5 year contract worth up to £240,000 per year to maintain the garden and open space areas around approximately 7000 of LiveWest homes across the region.

The contact, which covers 160 LiveWest sites in Bristol, South Gloucestershire and Bath, will also help reduce fly-tipping in the region.

Elmtree’s largest grounds maintenance contract will start on the first day of the company’s 50th anniversary year and will create new jobs, including two apprenticeships.

LiveWest is a leading developer of housing in the South West, who help thousands of customers to get on the road to owning their own home, and translate their profits into social housing.

LiveWest has plans to build 16,000 homes across the region over the next 10 years, developing new homes of all tenures including low-cost rent and sale, market rent and sale, and a range of supported housing and intermediate housing products creating choice and flexibility.

Elmtree, who are based at Pilning, Bristol, were formed in 1969. They currently employ 45 people doing ground maintenance and landscaping for housing associations, local authorities, construction companies and commercial clients.

Elmtree were particularly delighted to win the contract after a lengthy three month tender process as only 30% of the winning bid was based on finance, with the remaining criteria focused on their approach to the contract, technical expertise, quality and innovation.

Managing Director of Elmtree, Paul Lynch said: “We are delighted to win the contract with LiveWest to deliver grounds maintenance to their portfolio of homes around the Bristol area. It reflects the hard work we have put in over the last few years to ensure that our dedicated team of operatives have the skills, equipment and training to leave our sites looking the best they can.”

“We are also lucky to have a great management team that thrives on aiming to exceed our clients’ expectations. It also could not have come at a more suitable time – the contract starts on the first day of our 50th anniversary year, 2019.”

Elmtree Grounds Maintenance Manager Simon Palmer said: “We look forward to working with LiveWest on this contract, and will be able to take on two apprentices as a result of winning it”.

LiveWest commented “We are pleased to award a new contract to Elmtree, who have been delivering a great grounds maintenance service to our schemes in Bristol area for the past 6 years. LiveWest are looking forward to develop a close working partnership with Elmtree to improve and enhance outlook of our estates to ensure they are safe, well-kept, tidy and a great place to live in and enjoy for our residents.“