Jay Roche Helps Create Innovative Forest in Selby

Kerren Hayball

20th March, 2025

At Lucion, our commitment to environmental stewardship extends beyond our professional services.

We’re proud to share how Jay Roche, our Senior Environmental Transaction Services Consultant, recently contributed to an innovative forest-planting initiative in Selby, facilitated by our volunteer day employee benefit.

Miyawaki-Style Forest Innovation

Working alongside Groundwork, Jay volunteered at the Leeds Road Park, establishing a Miyawaki-style forest. This innovative Japanese concept mimics ancient forest conditions, creating a micro-wood environment where trees can grow up to ten times faster than conventional woodlands.

“The Miyawaki-style forest is a fascinating concept of establishing a forest,” Jay explains. “Trees are planted much closer together than in traditional forestry – we planted four trees/shrubs within each square metre. This proximity creates natural competition between the trees, accelerating their growth rate significantly.”

Scientific Approach to Forest Creation

The project implemented several scientific principles to ensure optimal growth conditions. The volunteer team prepared the soil through careful aeration, and following the planting, a bark mulch layer was applied to enrich the soil with nutrients. This methodical approach is proven to enhance growing conditions and support rapid forest development.

Research has shown that Miyawaki forests not only grow faster but also demonstrate higher biodiversity levels compared to traditional woodlands. This makes them particularly valuable for quickly establishing diverse forest ecosystems in urban areas.

Jay commented, “It felt great to be outside in the sun helping with a task to increase biodiversity in an area I grew up in. I can’t wait to keep checking back on the growth of the forest in the future and see all the hard work by the Groundwork team and volunteers pay off.”

Community Commitment

At Lucion, we actively encourage our people to engage with environmental and community initiatives that align with their values.

As part of our ESG commitments and people-first approach, we facilitate volunteer opportunities that allow our team to contribute meaningfully to causes they care about.

“Our volunteer programme is a perfect example of how we’re bringing our ESG commitments to life through our people. When our colleagues, like Jay, engage in environmental initiatives, they’re not only contributing to important causes but also developing new perspectives that enhance our service delivery.

This approach to social value creation is fundamental to our people-first culture and demonstrates how businesses can be a force for positive change.”

– Carolyn Cole, Chief People Officer, Lucion.

Projects like the Miyawaki forest in Selby demonstrate how our team are making tangible contributions to environmental conservation and community development, one volunteer day at a time.

Join Our Team

If you’re passionate about making a difference in both your professional work and your community then a career with Lucion might be for you. We offer more than just a career – we provide opportunities to contribute to meaningful environmental and social initiatives while developing your professional expertise. From volunteer days to professional development, we’re committed to supporting our people in making a positive impact.

Explore our current opportunities and discover what it’s like to be part of a purpose-driven organisation that puts people and planet first. Visit our careers page to learn more about joining the Lucion team.

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1 Trust

2 Integrity

3 Innovation

4 Sustainability

5 Commitment

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For our clients, it means working for them swiftly, decisively and with effectiveness; fulfilling all of our commitments to them and being dedicated to building long lasting relationships right across our client base. For our team, it means always working as one group to deliver our mission, live out our culture and look after one another.

1 Trust

Trust

We are building a strong foundation of trust with colleagues, clients and wider stakeholders, based upon our experience, knowledge, quality delivery and value.

2 Integrity

Integrity

We act with honesty, respect, fairness and transparency in all of our endeavours and through all of our interactions.

3 Innovation

Innovation

We welcome and pursue creative ideas that have the potential to make a positive difference to colleagues, clients and the community by raising quality or driving improvement.

4 Sustainability

Sustainability

We are developing our business with environmentally sustainable practices and building long-term trusted partnerships that benefit clients, colleagues and the planet.

5 Commitment

Commitment

We are committed to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of others, colleagues, clients and the wider community, and to striving for excellence in all that we do.

We promote a culture of transparency and accountability, where everyone is encouraged to contribute ideas and solutions that benefit both the company and the environment.

Working primarily in the environmental and risk management sectors, we have responsibilities to the environment and the communities in which we work. As we innovate, develop and evolve our business to ensure resilience for the future, we seek to attract and retain the best talent through engagement and our conscious commitment to work sustainably. Our social value policy gives our teams the flexibility to support causes they are passionate about and contribute to meaningful projects. As well as giving you volunteering leave, we provide lots of opportunities to get involved with charity events and initiatives. By encouraging a culture of social responsibility and giving, we not only support important causes but also cultivate a sense of purpose and fulfilment among our staff. Together, we can create positive change and build a better world for future generations.

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