Sustainability has been a key part of Willow Brae Pallets for decades. As a company that recycles wood pallets and refurbishes them back to new, sustainability is what they do. In line with the Christmas season, the local business has come up with a new way to promote that approach in the wider township, livening up people’s homes and yards in the process.
Teaming up with other local businesses, a class of EDSS students and community group Trees for Woolwich, the company has helped create wood sculpture decorations that are being sold at the Elmira and St. Jacobs Home Hardware stores to support greening initiatives right here in the community.
“Our company recycles wooden pallets, and so we are always interested in looking at opportunities to give back and to promote sustainability,” said Cheryl Weber, vice-president and co-owner of Willow Brae.
“And when we found out that Trees for Woolwich existed, we thought it would be a great partner for us and to try help get some trees planted. … So I thought, ‘what if we made pallet wood trees and then sold them to make money to plant trees?’”
The result is a collection of handcrafted sculptures of trees made from recycled wood, now being sold at the local Home Hardware stores.
“They’re cute as the dickens for people who are into what we describe as ‘rustic chic’,” said Inga Rinne, chair of the Trees for Woolwich group. “They’re about two or three feet high and you can stick them out in your yard or you can dress them up on your front lawn.”
Last year, Willow Brae took it on themselves to build the sculptures out of their abundant supplies of recycled wood. But this year, they were helped by a Grade 10 wood working class at EDSS, who crafted the trees as a school project using the recycled materials provided by the company.
All the proceeds made from the sale of these sculptures go directly back to Trees for Woolwich, helping promote a greener, more verdant township for years to come.
“I mean, how many ways can you feel good about buying something? It’s recycled and the kids made it and the proceeds are going to a good cause,” Rinne said with a laugh.
With the students pitching in to build the tree sculptures, Weber says they were able to save on extra labour costs – meaning even more money for Trees for Woolwich. Even better, she added, the students were able to put in their own unique touches into the project.
“They were allowed to use their creativity, so [the trees] don’t all look alike. They’re all kinds of different, and I think that’s kind of exciting – you can pick a tree that suits you and they’re not all cookie cutters,” she said.
Weber is hoping the project can become a yearly tradition to raise money for Trees for Woolwich, adding she’s grateful for the wider community support.
“It’s nice to have all the different community members involved in it, so its’ not just us,” she explained. “It’s the schools, and it’s the Home Hardware stores that are willing to actually sell them for us and collect the money, so it’s everybody kind of working together.”
For Weber, the idea seemed like a natural fit for Willow Brae Pallets and it’s recycling enterprise.
“Our business is wood, and our emblem on our logo is a willow tree,” she points out. “So we just feel that wood and tree planting is just all a natural tie to our business, to show that it’s a sustainable product that we have. We want to contribute to planting trees to continue making it a sustainable business.”
The trees are being sold at the Elmira and St. Jacobs Home Hardware stores, and range in price from $9.99 to $19.99, depending on the size.
