From Acorns to Oaks: A Commitment to a Greener Future

For the past 20 years, Carden Park has proudly partnered with Forestart, a Shrewsbury-based company that specialises in tree and shrub seeds. Together, we’ve helped ensure that the landscape around us continues to thrive — not just for today, but for generations to come.

Our 1,000-acre Cheshire Estate provides the perfect environment for oak trees to flourish, making it an ideal location for collecting acorns each autumn. The grounds, particularly our two golf courses, are carefully maintained throughout the year, which makes gathering acorns both efficient and sustainable. This October, a team of six colleagues spent three days collecting the season’s crop. While plenty were left behind for wildlife, an impressive two tonnes of acorns were gathered — ready to begin their next chapter.

Once collected, the acorns are sent to Forestart, where they are distributed to nurseries across the region. There, they are nurtured and grown into young trees and shrubs. These saplings then find homes across the country, through government planting grants, Woodland Trust schemes and commercial landscaping projects. Some nurseries even offer businesses the chance to request trees grown from their own seed collections — meaning that many of our acorns may have already returned home to Carden Park, particularly as part of our 2022 tree planting project.

This year’s acorn harvest was one of the strongest seen across the UK and the crop from Carden Park alone has the potential to grow between 200,000 and 300,000 new oak trees. Each of these trees represents not only a continuation of the natural cycle, but also a lasting contribution to the health of our environment.

At Carden Park, environmental sustainability is more than a goal — it’s part of who we are. Working alongside Forestart allows us to play a meaningful role in ensuring that the beauty of our surroundings continues to grow, one acorn at a time.