On 17th August, Joe Cooper and his son Jack are embarking on two-week cycle from Lands End to John O Groats to raise money for Avon Needs Trees!

Before they set off on their adventure, we caught up with Joe to find out more about why they decided to support our work to create new permanent woodlands across the Bristol-Avon catchment.

How are you feeling before your trip?

I’m well thank you. I’m pretty confident we’ll meet our target – my company is match funding all donations so we are well on our way!

What prompted you to cycle from Lands End to John O Groats?

Well I’ve got a son who I’ve always wanted to do a big physical project with, like an adventure. I love Great Britain, having lived here all my life and I wanted to get a sense of the size and scale of this amazing island.

Why did you choose to fundraise for Avon Needs Trees?

My company is called Touchwood Play, we work with a lot of wood and traditional craft in our construction, and connecting people to the local environment which I think is really important. I really like the idea of repopulating the landscape with woodland again, and ANT’s model in particular: creating more woodlands that are permanent and are a legacy for the future.

Why is this cause important to you?

It’s important because our future depends on rebalancing nature, and the way we live alongside nature at the moment will not allow nature to rebalance itself. We need to take action, and turning the land into woodland is an important way of doing this!

Huge thank you to Joe and Jack for choosing to raise money for ANT, and best of luck on your amazing adventure! If you’d like to support their fundraiser, you can visit their JustGiving page.

Inspired by this fundraiser? Why not embark on your own adventure to raise money to create new woodlands – or head to our fundraising page for more inspiration.