Wood and coal fuel specialist, Logs Direct, has continued to blaze a trail for both red squirrel conservation and customer-giving, having raised £500 this year for red squirrel conservation group, Westmorland Red Squirrels and the group’s work in Cumbria’s Rusland Valley, in South Lakeland.
The funds raised for vital conservation work to protect populations of Britain’s native red squirrel – in a constant battle for survival due to the threat of non-native grey squirrels – come from the generosity of Halton-based Logs Direct’s customers, who either add a voluntary donation to their online order or donate when interacting with Logs Direct’s team at one of the many shows at which they exhibit each year.
Logs Direct matches every voluntary donation that is over £2 in value and the donating customer receives a cute red squirrel toy, as a thank you.
Many customers who make these kind donations live in areas of the country where they do not have red squirrel populations. In fact, some have never seen a red squirrel, which makes their generosity even more special.
The concept of customer giving was one on which Logs Direct sought the expert advice of visitor payback specialists, Nurture Lakeland (now the Lake District Foundation) before setting up its customer giving scheme in 2015. To date, it has raised over £2000 for red squirrel protection.
The initial impetus behind the customer-giving decision was to add to Logs Direct’s already impressive green credentials and corporate social responsibility programme, as at that time, over half of its products were sourced from Cumbria, where much of the country’s red squirrel population can be found.
Logs Direct sources its wood ethically and solely from FSC-approved forests, where it works with local communities and supports their local economy. It also supports woodland conservation groups, by taking away wood that has been cleared from community forests and has invested in its own Swedish kilns and boilers, at significant cost, to be able to provide British consumers with homegrown British wood.
Having proved the effectiveness of customer giving, Logs Direct will be continuing to raise money for Westmorland Red Squirrels in the coming years. The monies raised have been used for the Rusland Reds project, which protects red squirrels in the woodland habitats of the Rusland Valley in southern Cumbria.
Whilst many volunteers support red squirrel conservation work, the costs of protecting red squirrels and providing them with sufficient food supplies, is significant. One red squirrel can eat a £3 box of hazelnuts and peanuts every week, so the hungry little chaps need as much support as possible.
Logs Direct’s sales director, Stephen Talbot, says: “We have been raising money for red squirrel conservation for the past four years and cannot thank our customers enough for their generosity in adding voluntary donations to their orders. As a company, we have been happy to match many of these, to help support our local communities and a cause that is inextricably linked to our core business.
“We look forward to seeing thriving red squirrel populations in the years to come in Cumbria, although there is still much conservation work to do, to ensure the species’ survival. We are proud to think that our initiative has already assisted this goal and hope that red squirrels will become a more common sight for many more of our kind customers.”
Speaking on behalf of Westmorland Red Squirrels, Bob Cartwright said: “Logs Direct’s customer-giving model is one that many online shops could adopt, to help good causes like our own. We hope that the example set will encourage others to follow Logs Direct’s lead and support causes with some form of connection to their core business, which is when customer-giving becomes really powerful.
“Our Rusland Reds project has benefited greatly from this form of support and we shall continue to protect our precious red squirrels with passion.”
