As a certified B-Corp, STC Expeditions builds giving back to the community into how we work. Each employee gets a dedicated volunteering day every year to support a cause that matters to them. This year, I chose to spend mine with Moor Trees, a Devon-based charity on a mission to restore native woodland across the South West.
Who Are Moor Trees?
Moor Trees has spent over two decades working to reverse the decline of native woodland in Devon and Cornwall. Their model is refreshingly hands-on: they collect seed from local native trees, grow the saplings in their own tree nurseries, and then plant them out across the region with the help of volunteers and landowners. It's a slow, patient kind of conservation. The trees planted today won't reach maturity for decades, but that long view is exactly what makes it feel worthwhile.
What the Day Involved
The day split into two:
Inventory checking. We started by checking on how the young trees and seedlings were getting on. This meant counting survival rates of different species of trees and measuring the rate at which they were growing. It was a good reminder that planting a tree is only the first step, the real work of restoration is in the years of monitoring and care that follow.
Planting seedlings. In the afternoon, we moved on to planting new seedlings, working in small teams to plant each one correctly so it had the best chance of surviving its first winter.
What I Took Away From It
First, how much groundwork sits behind a cause like this. It's easy to think of tree planting as a quick, feel-good activity, but Moor Trees' approach, collecting local seed, growing it in their own nurseries, monitoring it for years afterward, is a reminder that meaningful environmental work is rarely fast. It requires patience and long-term thinking, which isn't always easy to build into busy day-to-day lives.
Second, there's something valuable about doing physical, outdoor work as a break from a normal working routine. It's a different kind of tiring, and a different kind of satisfying, than a day at a desk.
Finally, it reinforced why our B-Corp commitments matter beyond the certification itself. Spending a day actually seeing the impact of an organisation like Moor Trees, and learning about woodland that exists because of years of volunteer effort, makes the value of that commitment much more concrete.
Why This Matters to Us
As a business, being a B-Corp means holding ourselves accountable to more than just commercial success. Giving every employee the time and encouragement to volunteer for a cause they care about is one small but meaningful part of that. It supports organisations like Moor Trees that are doing genuinely important, long-term environmental work, and it gives our team a chance to step outside the office and reconnect with why that work matters.
If you're curious about supporting native woodland restoration in Devon and Cornwall, Moor Trees is always looking for volunteers, you can find out more on their website.
And if you're part of a business thinking about how to make volunteering days genuinely meaningful rather than symbolic, my one piece of advice would be this: pick something hands-on, where you can see the direct results of your work. It makes the day (and the cause) stick with you long after you're back at your desk.