B&Q has announced that it will support HRH Prince of Wales' Start initiative for the second year running.
The initiative is geared to increase public awareness about how to achieve a more sustainable lifestyle. B&Q's will take part in an 'eco-extravaganza' entitled Start@Kew - an interactive family event at The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew on August 25-29. This year, B&Q has selected 'Forest Friendly' as its theme.
The retailer launched the Forest Friendly programme last year to encourage the UK to only buy timber from well-managed, legal forests. It's a topic the company feels passionately about, having become the UK's first major retailer to guarantee all timber sold in stores comes from a well-managed sustainable source. Kingfisher ceo Ian Cheshire also recently called for
global talks concerning deforestation.
For the event B&Q has created its own mini forest including six 4m-high trees that visitors can interact with to discover more about why the world's forests are important.
Children visiting Start@Kew will also get the chance to win and decorate a B&Q Forest Friendly timber medal, by counting the rings on the medal to discover the age of the tree it came from.
One of the giant interactive trees is already out on the road and can be seen this week at the Royal Welsh show.