To celebrate 60 years in business, SPAR Ireland will plant 20,000 native Irish trees across six sites this year, as part of its SPAR Team Tree initiative.

20,000 trees

The tree symbol has been associated with SPAR since its inception in 1932 and is well recognised in Ireland, with the brand growing its awareness since 1963. To mark the anniversary milestone, SPAR is partnering with the Tree Council of Ireland to plant 20,000 trees across sites in Dublin, Wicklow, Wexford, Waterford, Galway and Sligo. At three sites, trees are already in situ, while the rest will be planted later in the year when tree-planting season resumes.

Encouraging biodiversity

The initiative’s key objective is to encourage biodiversity and nurture all things that thrive and grow under the tree, with the goal of having mature oak woodlands in 100 years’ time. The areas will host a wide variety of plants, insects and animals. Other native Irish trees including holly, hawthorn, cherry, and elm will also be planted. The planting of the Native Irish Woodlands is funded by SPAR through its national Charity Partner Programme, to which a donation of the sale of selected SPAR Own Brand products is made.

SPAR Ireland is also sponsoring National Tree Day in October, where primary school children will be invited to plant trees on their school grounds. SPAR Ireland is also part of SPAR International’s One Tree Planted initiative, which has seen over 31,000 trees and more than €37,000 raised in SPAR countries across the globe.

Source: SPAR Ireland

Read more about SPAR in Ireland

About SPAR Ireland

SPAR Ireland was established in 1963 when the first store was opened by the Ralph family, still involved in the business today. SPAR Ireland is operated by a leading wholesale and retail company, BWG Foods, a subsidiary of SPAR Group Ltd Southern Africa.

With a presence across the Republic of Ireland, SPAR is one of the country’s largest convenience retail groups. In developing the business, SPAR Ireland has a long track record of recognising the strategic importance of new retail concepts. It operates three of the four SPAR formats: SPAR, EUROSPAR, and SPAR Express. These three formats bring consumers a comprehensive range of innovative products and instore offerings.