WYEVALE Nurseries has supported a major tree planting and landscape enhancement initiative at Cotswolds Distillery in collaboration with Gloucestershire County Council’s Greener Gloucestershire Trees Team and landscape architects Rachael White Designs (May 2026).
The project forms part of a long term vision to transform newly acquired land at the distillery into a resilient, biodiverse landscape.
Hereford-based Wyevale Nurseries’ Sales and Marketing Director, Kersten Catella says: “The brief was to create an area that benefits wildlife, the community and the environment, while also supporting the site’s innovative natural water treatment system. Native, home grown trees, supplied by us, will play a key role in increasing long-term habitat connectivity, improving water quality and strengthening climate resilience across the site.”
As one of the UK’s longest established commercial horticultural growers, Wyevale Nurseries, which is committed to peat free production, biosecurity and reducing carbon footprint, works closely with partners whose environmental ambitions align with its own.
Rachael White from Rachael White Designs explains: “Our approach has always been to create landscapes that work in harmony with their setting and stand the test of time. What was once a waterlogged, heavily grazed field is now evolving into a resilient and biodiverse environment, shaped through careful landscape and planting design as well as collaboration with ecology specialists, living water.
“The addition of native trees supplied by Wyevale Nurseries is a crucial next step, enriching habitat, supporting the site’s natural water treatment systems and creating a welcoming landscape for both wildlife and visitors.”
Daniel Szor, Founder/CEO of Cotswolds Distillery, says the business wanted to show that environmental infrastructure can be both functional and beautiful.
He continues: “The project has exceeded our expectations and stands as a powerful example of what can be achieved when commercial ambition and ecological thinking are aligned.”
Supplying trees for this project reflects Wyevale Nurseries’ wider environmental policy, which focuses on sustainable growing practices, responsible land use and supporting initiatives that deliver lasting ecological and social value.
Kersten adds: “Projects like this demonstrate the positive power of working together. With joined up thinking, we can develop green spaces that genuinely work for people, wildlife and the wider environment.”
The initiative also contributes to Gloucestershire County Council’s ambition to increase tree canopy cover across the county, supporting biodiversity, air quality and climate change mitigation. Volunteer planting days have enabled members of the community to play an active role in shaping the landscape, fostering a sense of ownership and connection to the site.
Gloucestershire County Council, Greener Gloucestershire Trees Team representative, Sara Noons, said: “By working alongside Cotswolds Distillery, Rachael White Designs and Wyevale Nurseries, we’ve been able to deliver meaningful tree planting that increases canopy cover, strengthens biodiversity and improves water management on the site.
“Our volunteers have also played a vital role and are taking pride in seeing the trees they helped to plant now thriving. Initiatives like this directly support our ambition to plant one million trees across Gloucestershire by 2030, delivering long term benefits for wildlife, climate resilience and community wellbeing.”
Wyevale Nurseries is supporting similar projects across the region, helping connect partners with shared sustainability goals and supplying high quality UK grown trees that will provide environmental benefits for generations to come.
Founded in 1930 and still family owned, the family-run company manages 800 acres of production across multiple sites.
As a wholesale grower and supplier of trees, shrubs, hedging and herbaceous plants, it serves the professional trade nationwide, including landscape contractors, local authorities, housebuilders, commercial estates, garden centres and plant retailers.
One of the last remaining large general nurseries in the UK with its own propagation unit, Wyevale Nurseries grows the majority of its stock in house.
This gives clients access to UK grown, traceable plants, backed by robust health protocols and acclimatisation standards that reduce failure risk and contractor liability.
For further details about Wyevale Nurseries or to find out more, please call 01432 845 200 or visit www.wyevalenurseries.co.uk.