Join charity Plantathon for Squire’s

Karen Neville

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Squires

Karen Neville

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Support garden centres’ charity of the year programme and get involved in fundraising for local causes

Squire’s Garden Centres is inviting customers to come along to its centres on Friday, 6th September to join its charity Plantathon and help support Squire’s year of fundraising for its local charity organisations, marking the start of its Charity of the Year programme.

Taking place from 10am-3pm, at 15 of Squire’s garden centres**, the Squire’s teams at each centre – as well as charity volunteer helpers – are looking forward to welcoming customers for a fun and rewarding day planting up containers. The completed pots will be available for customers to purchase on the day, between 10am-3pm, with profits from the sale of each container going to each centre’s Charity of the Year (see list below).

Customers are encouraged to come along and support – to chat, ask questions – and are very welcome to pitch-in and plant-up pots too, in aid of some brilliant community causes close to each centre.

Each container will include a selection of autumn bedding plants, a centre piece feature plant, plus some daffodil bulbs to bring added cheer in spring (early September is the perfect time to plant spring flowering bulbs), all planted in peat free compost. The planted containers will be available to purchase for £12 each, representing fantastic value for money, while also helping local charities.

Sarah Squire, Chairman of Squire’s Garden Centres, comments: “We are looking forward to hosting our Plantathon initiative once again this year! It’s a wonderful way to welcome the autumn planting season, while marking the start of our work with our local charity partners for the next 12 months.

“We would be delighted to welcome visitors to our centres to get involved and help plant their own pot up – or just pop along and show their support for our colleagues and charity, which is local to the centre and often close to the hearts of many colleagues. Each centre works with their chosen charity to support their activities in the local community, as well as raising awareness and much needed funds at special evens throughout the year.

Charity of the Year – 2024/25

Charities chosen for the coming year are:

Badshot Leaspace2grow  Farnham’s community wellbeing garden, connecting local people in nature. space2grow.space
ChertseyLittle Roo Neonatal Fund  The Little Roo Neonatal Fund raises money to provide support for St. Peter’s Neonatal Unit, enabling it to continue providing the highest standards of intensive care for babies. ashfordstpeters.nhs.uk/littleroo
CobhamCobham Area Foodbank  A project founded by local churches and community groups, working together towards stopping hunger in the local area.  cobhamarea.foodbank.org.uk
CrawleyAge UK Crawley Branch  Offering services for older people, their families and their carers ageuk.org.uk/westsussexbrightonhove/activities-and-events/crawley/
FrenshamThe Green Hub Project for TeensThe Green Hub Project for Teens is a local community project serving Surrey and Hampshire and surrounding areas, supporting teenagers facing social, emotional and mental health challenges. greenhub.org.uk/
HershamHome-Start ElmbridgeWorking alongside families to give compassionate and confidential support for parents and their children. homestartelmbridge.org.uk
Long DittonWalton CharityA local charitable foundation, working with the community and local partners, aiming to build an Elmbridge community free from poverty and that thrives waltoncharity.org.uk
MilfordThe Fountain CentreA small independent cancer charity within St Luke’s Cancer Centre at the Royal Surrey Hospital, providing holistic and emotional support and information to as many patients as possible. fountaincentre.org/
ReigateSASH Charity (East Surrey Hospital)The charity for East Surrey Hospital and services provided by Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust. Raising funds for to create great experiences for patients and staff. sashcharity.org/
SheppertonSpelthorne Dementia SupportA small group of local volunteers who make a positive difference to the quality of life of people living with dementia, their carers and families. spelthorne-dementia-support.org.uk/
StanmoreSt Luke’s HospiceSt Luke’s is a charity providing specialist end of life and palliative care to people in Harrow and Brent, enabling them to achieve the best possible quality of life. stlukes-hospice.org/
TwickenhamHomeLinkA local charity dedicated to the wellbeing of older people and their unpaid carers. homelinkdaycare.co.uk/
WashingtonRockinghorse Children’s CharityThe official fundraising arm of the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital, Brighton. Raising money for life-saving equipment, projects and services for sick babies, children and young people. rockinghorse.org.uk/
West HorsleyOakleaf EnterpriseOakleaf is based in Guildford offering a range of services to its clients to empower them to gain the skills, training and confidence needed to manage their mental health and return to work. oakleaf-enterprise.org
WokingWoking & Sam Beare HospiceA charity that cares for thousands of patients and their carers and families each year, specialising in holistic care for patients with life-limiting and terminal illness. wsbh.org.uk/
WokinghamCLASPSupporting people with learning disabilities in the Wokingham Borough and run by its members.  CLASP employs people with learning disabilities and offers voluntary opportunities. claspwokingham.org/

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Squire’s garden centres team’s generous giving

Liz Nicholls

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Squires

Liz Nicholls

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Squire’s Garden Centres have once again shown support for local charitable causes in the community, through the Charity of the Year programme, raising over £25,000 across their 16 centres and group office.

The initiative, which is now going into its 13th year, sees each centre choose a local charity to work with over the course of the year, running 1st August to 31st July.

Charitable organisations who are selected to partner with each of Squire’s 16 centres as well as Farnham-based group office, must meet specific:
• that they benefit local people with donations reaching a local cause (rather than funds going to a national pot)
• they must be a registered charity
• they are a family or people-based charity or support the environment.

Squires MD Martin Breddy says: “I would like to congratulate colleagues on their brilliant efforts over the past year in showing their support for their chosen charity partners and hosting various events and activities. We couldn’t raise the fantastic amount we have without the generosity and support of our valued customers who assist in our fundraising efforts – a very sincere thank you to them. I know the sums raised will make a big difference to our charity partners.”

“We couldn’t raise the fantastic amount we have without the generosity and support of our valued customers.”

As well as the crucial fundraising, working together often provides a platform to help communicate the charity’s work and relevance to local people and the community. In some cases, there may be the opportunity for a charity’s client to be involved with the centre providing valuable learning opportunities and experiences.

Funds raised over the course of the year come from charity boxes in each centre, the annual Plantathon event, ticket sales from Squire’s grottos, raffles and other customer-facing activities. Centre teams also have taken on larger events and initiatives, including walking to the summit of Mount Snowdon, a staff member running a 10k race, a pop-up shop selling donated Christmas gifts and a charity partner’s gardening club visiting a centre to experience potting-up and selling planted containers.

Chairman Sarah Squire adds: “Squire’s colleagues have continued to support their local communities through their fundraising efforts in support of our Charity of the Year programme. They strive to do their best, working in partnership with their chosen charities that play such an important role in the local community. Our Charity of the Year programme is all about making a big difference for local people.”

Squire’s also supports Greenfingers Charity, the national charity which builds gardens for children’s hospices as well as Perennial, which assists people who work or have worked in horticulture. Squire’s also assists many local causes and events within their local communities in addition to the figure donated through the Charity of the Year programme.

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Spooky half term fun at Squire’s

Round & About

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Create & Grow activities to keep your little monsters entertained this October

Squire’s Garden Centres is looking forward to welcoming young visitors for some half term with some spooky themed activities, running Monday 23rd-Friday, 27th October.

Children are invited to come along and paint a spooky tealight holder as well as enjoy a FREE ghost hunt (and fancy dress is welcome too!). Squire’s popular Create & Grow event for children is the perfect way to fill a morning over October half term with some fun creative craft activities which include painting a ceramic witch’s hat* tealight holder (priced £6.50). Once finished, it can be taken home – along with a complimentary battery-operated LED tealight – to brighten a bedroom or corner of the house during the dark, spooky evenings that lie ahead from half-term onwards. Advanced booking is required – which can be done online or in-store. The painting activity lasts approximately 20 minutes and should be booked in advance, with visitors invited to go to the information desk on arrival.

In addition, there is also a FREE Ghost Hunt with clues to find along the trail around the garden centre to complete a spooky word – with a ghost-themed sticker to receive on completion (no booking required).

A half-term visit to enjoy some ‘spooky’ fun at Squire’s can be extended with a visit to the popular Café Bars at all centres and a light bite from the ‘Little Gardener’s’ menu. There will be plenty to match the hunger of the spooky crafters, while adults may choose an autumn-themed treat and a welcome rest.

Sarah Squire, Chairman of Squire’s Garden Centres, said: “Once again we are delighted to be able offer families something fun to look forward to for October half-term and the autumn season. Children seem to love this week in our centres and we’re sure the tealight holder activity will capture young imaginations. I am sure there will be an amazing variety of decoration and I hope children will enjoy their creations at home during the darker evenings to come.”

Enjoy Halloween fun at a centre near you at Badshot Lea, Cobham, Frensham, Hersham, Long Ditton, Milford, Shepperton, West Horsely, Woking and Wokingham.

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Recycle your tree and help hospices

Karen Neville

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Squires

Squires Garden Centres have advice about what to do with your tree after Christmas

A real Christmas tree is one of the most significant purchases for many families during the festive season, and this is perhaps even more of a reason to make a conscious effort to treat it in a sustainable way after Christmas.

‘Real’ Christmas trees are 100% recyclable; they can be shredded into chippings which are then often used locally in parks or woodland. Local authorities have drop-off points or special collection of ‘real’ trees in early January, so it is worth checking services available – just remember to remove all the decorations first!

In addition to local drop-off points for recycling trees, there is also the National Christmas Tree Collection, the flagship event of JustHelping, the service benefitting local hospices and charities, with service users paying a donation to have their ‘real’ Christmas tree collected – in relevant locations, Squire’s Garden Centres promote the service to customers. In 2022 the charity raised over £975,500 for over 108 charities, hospices and community organisations.

Other creative ways to consider recycling a ‘real’ tree include:

Mulch the needles – remove branches and shake off needles and they will decompose over time

Wood compost – if you can’t get the tree shredded locally with ease, branches can be removed and trunk dismantled into small chunks, quickening up decomposition

Use the tree as a stake – removing needles, the trunk can be used as a useful garden stake for flowers or vegetables

Wildlife habitat – remove tree branches and use to thoughtfully set up a shelter in the corner of the garden for wildlife

Creative coasters – the tree trunk can be cut into small circles for rustic coasters, sanded down and sealed (to avoid sap leaking) and decorated if desired

‘Pot Grown’ Trees (with roots) – are a great, sustainable investment as they can be planted in the garden afterwards for an outdoor tree next year, or nurtured in their pot or re-potted in a bigger one if necessary and brought in again for next Christmas

Sarah Squire, Chairman of Squire’s Garden Centres, said: “Real” Christmas trees are a sustainable crop – while growing they absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen. After Christmas cut trees are totally recyclable and pot grown trees can be enjoyed again next year. Local tree collection services can also be a win-win with trees being sustainably recycled and community charities benefitting too.

“As Christmas draws to a close, we can all think about what we do with our tree, committing to a collection service or re-purposing in the garden to help nature and wildlife – and absolutely avoiding festive waste in landfill.”

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