Through our Social and Environmental Fund we are committed to donating a minimum of 20% of our profit each year to relevant social and environmental charities. Around half of the investment goes to social charities — we all know that Cornwall’s a beautiful place to visit, but, for many, it can also be a tough place to start life, with some of the most deprived communities in the country. The other half is committed to fighting climate change and restoring habitats and we invest in planting thousands of trees each year to help offset the carbon generated by the cottage you are staying in, from heating, cooking and electrical devices — as well as the carbon generated by your car journey to Cornwall and home again (based on average UK driving distances to Cornwall).
Wild works alongside some of the most vulnerable and marginalised young parents in Cornwall to give them the best possible start to family life, improving the outcomes for their children and helping future generations to thrive. They welcome young mums and dads under the age of 23 (and young people who are expecting a baby) along with their babies and under-5s. By tackling issues such as mental health, food and fuel poverty, debt, housing problems, substance misuse, and money management, Wild helps parents to develop skills and build resilience to the many challenges they face. We made a three year commitment to supporting this amazing charity in 2023.
Find out more about Wild
The Wave Project improves the mental health and well-being of young people through the power of surf therapy. Combining the therapeutic elements of the ocean with the adventure of surfing and a supportive culture of acceptance, The Wave Project supports children from all demographics to achieve things they never thought possible. The idea that the coast has a positive effect on our mental health has gained huge momentum in recent years, but this charity has taken it to the next level. Founded in 2010, The Wave Project offers the world’s first surf therapy courses. Their 6,000 volunteer surf mentors deliver life-changing experiences — first in Cornwall and now all over the UK — every day. We made a three year commitment to supporting this amazing charity in 2023.
Find out more about The Wave Project
This award-winning conservation charity was one of the finalists for the prestigious Earthshot Prize in 2021. The Pole Pole Foundation (POPOF) works to protect rainforest and the critically endangered Eastern Lowland Grauer’s gorillas in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We’ve been working with POPOF since 2017, planting some 60,000 trees so far. These create a buffer zone between the rainforest and the community, to provide a sustainable source of fuel, timber and plant-based food — part of multi-strand work that includes anti-poaching messages, tackling malnutrition, and healthy diet education. Saplings are grown in the POPOF nursery, providing employment to local women, then distributed to members of the community to plant.
Find out more about the Pole Pole Foundation
Field to Forest is a Cornwall-based Community Interest Company. Their mission is to create woodland in cases where, due to the size or the nature of the project, they would not otherwise have been planted. The goals are to sequester carbon, support biodiversity, improve habitats and wildlife connectivity, and to improve natural resource management — specifically preservation of topsoil and improved water management. We started working with Field to Forest in 2021, planting 750 multi-species indigenous trees near Hayle in west Cornwall as part of a habitat regeneration project. Our second project is at Woodland Valley Farm in mid Cornwall — home to the amazing Cornwall Beaver Project.
Find out more about the Field to Forest Foundation
Bude Community Larder started in 2022 and is just one project run by the amazing Sustainable Bude CIC, a community-led group of volunteers that exists to strengthen the local economy, reduce environmental impact and build resilience for a future with a changing climate. The Larder is a brilliant project that collects surplus or short-dated food from supermarkets, as well as from Cornwall Gleaning Network and from local residents who have surplus fruit and veg. And gives it away! The project benefits those on low incomes but there are no ‘entry requirements’ — it’s simply free of charge, to anyone who can use it. So far (spring 2024) they have saved over three tonnes of good food from going to landfill. We’re helping support the next stage of development for this really worthwhile project, which includes helping them to set up a new permanent ‘home’ including fridges and freezers which will enable them to collect and give away non-ambient food.
Find out more about the Sustainable Bude
Did you know that only 8% of Cornwall is woodland? That’s compared to 13% in the rest of the UK (not great) and 30% of the rest of Europe (that’s better!). Plant One is a Community Interest Company working to change that. We’re contributing to their inspirational project to plant 80,000 trees at Cabilla on Bodmin moor, forming the heart of a 300 acre temperate rainforest restoration project. The trees here are sessile oaks; as well as sequestering carbon, these beautiful gnarled, twisted and hardy trees are an essential wildlife habitat themselves, hosting 100s of other species, and will go on to form the core of this much needed woodland habitat.
Find out more about Plant One Cornwall
Working Woodlands CIC is very hands-on not-for-profit organisation. It was established in 2017 to improve the health and biodiversity of Cornwall’s woods, bring neglected woodlands back into sustainable management, and increasing access for all. In 2024 we are collaborating with Working Woodlands in a special project to create 0.3 acres of new woodland just across the harbour here in Falmouth. We will almost be able to see it from the office! This new ‘stand’ will expand existing woodland and link up natural habitats, sequester carbon and help prevent soil erosion and the associated carbon loss to the atmosphere. Tree species will include oak, birch, willow, black locust, and douglas fir – a resilient mix with good biodiversity and carbon sequestering properties. This is a truly collaborative project with the Forever Cornwall funding covering ground preparation and planting, and with the trees guards and stakes funded by the Trefusis estate. Members of the FC team will help with the planting.
Find out more about Working Woodlands
In 2021 the Falmouth Food Co-op rented a field in Penryn, Cornwall to grow food with and for the local community. They christened it Loveland. Since then hundreds of people have visited and contributed energy to transform the bare grass space into an abundant community field. Loveland now boasts almost 1000 trees, and contains diverse projects all led by local people including a herbal medicine garden, community veg patch, heritage grains project, flowers plot and a community orchard. Over 40 people regularly volunteer at weekly sessions, with 100’s more participating in events and workshops every year. In 2024 we made a special donation of £1000 which was boosted a further £700 by both Aviva and the Cost of Living Resilience Fund. This is to help with; a wheelchair and pushchair friendly access track, two polytunnels, a walk-behind tractor, a compost systems and other outputs.
Find out more about Loveland
The mission of the Cornwall Wildlife Trust is to allow our wildlife to come back to what it once was, before human interference had such an impact on nature. We have pledged to support Cornwall Wildlife Trust and the work they do to protect and provide habitats, from clifftop heathland to wooded areas and riverbanks. They also monitor marine life and habitats, collecting data to conserve the underwater ecosystems and raising awareness about how to protect them.
Find out more about the Cornwall Wildlife Trust
The SAS are the original ocean activists, the voice of the ocean, campaigning for a thriving ocean, and thriving people. Created in 1990 by a group of surfers in St Agnes on the north coast, this national marine conservation charity works to protect oceans and marine life through education, activism and fundraising, inspiring people to take action and campaign for better water quality in our coastal regions. They carry out regular beach cleans throughout the UK for their Million Mile Clean campaign, and have so far organised over 4,000 events, collecting nearly half a million kilos of rubbish. We’re proud to be ongoing supporters and part of the Ocean Network, a national movement with over 300 businesses supporting environmental solutions.
Find out more about Surfers Against Sewage