We envisage a future where communities are inspired to implement natural solutions to climate change.
We believe community activities, like Roots for the Future’s are at the root of curbing the global issue of climate change.
Who we are
Roots for the Future was dreamt up by co-founders Francesca Fryer Rigden and Daniel Rigden.
Francesca has spent many years working in international development and campaigning for progressive causes. Inspired by a work trip to Ethiopia where farming communities told her about the dramatic change in their climate over the last 20 years, and with the UK’s increase in flooding she decided she should focus more on environmental issues.
Her husband Dan has been a tree surgeon for two decades and he and his team plant trees as well as give them a trim. With the government’s sustainability targets and the universal sustainable development goals in mind, in 2016 Francesca and Dan founded community tree planting social enterprise, Roots for the Future.
Danielle Giornandi is our Chair
Danielle Giornandi is a local Godalming resident but originally hails from Los Angeles, California. The vast swaths of greenery that Surrey boasts made her immediately fall in love. Danielle has an extremely varied background but has a BA in European Political History and about MSc in Psychosocial studies, Education, Power and Social Change. She has run humanitarian operations, worked for educational charities, and now runs a local small business in Godalming which provides refills and other sustainable and eco-friendly products.
Sam Allen is our Secretary
Coming from a mixed background in CRM in the retail and not-for-profit sectors, Sam has a keen interest in equality and the environment. In addition he is proficient in event management, running music events, in particular our much loved local annual festival, Staycation Live.
We are on the look-out for a fifth member of our board. Get in touch if you are interested in a formal voluntary role with Roots for the Future.
Why trees?
The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now!
Trees are amazing. As we all learn in school, they give us the oxygen we breathe and it’s well known they absorb and store the carbon emitted from vehicles and industrial activity. They also mitigate other climate change related issues such as flooding. That’s because water sinks into soil under trees at 70 times the rate it sinks under grass. With so much on the news lately about our poor air quality, it is important to note that trees absorb pollution and filter particulates out of the air by trapping them on their leaves and bark.
We aim to cultivate a lasting legacy of environmental sustainability by engaging communities in tree planting. We believe that participation in our workshops contribute to social integration at a local level. The workshops act as a call to action to enable people to do something positive together for the community as well as for the good of humanity.
Green spaces make us feel better and more resilient to stress. Studies show that when people are recovering in hospital, if they can see a tree outside their window, they get better more quickly than those who can’t. And it is reported that trees cut crime and anti-social activity.
Protecting and enhancing local green space is critical for the health of people as well as the environment. According to Natural England, the government’s conservation advisor, green spaces close to home or school positively impact children’s body mass index, resilience to stress, and ability to learn. It has been shown that older people live longer in areas with more green space. People who visit the outdoors every day, take part in gardening, or are members of voluntary environmental organisations have higher feelings of happiness and well-being.
So come plant with us!