Sebastian Pole: Forest on a tree

by Sebastian Pole, co-founder of Pukka Herbs.

Ever since Pukka Herbs began in 2001, our mission has been to bring people closer to the incredible power of plants in the most sustainable and ethical way possible.

We believe in conservation through commerce, which is why we donate 1% of turnover to environmental causes every year.

In Bristol, we support three charities each year. One charity to benefit people, one to benefit plants and one to benefit the planet. Our sponsorship of Wildlife Photographer of the Year at M Shed is our planet partnership.

We love this exhibition because it showcases the link between human impact, animal habitats and the environment in a moving and thought-provoking way. This perfectly aligns with Pukka’s passion for protecting and celebrating our beautiful planet and the extraordinary creatures who share it with us.

One of my favourite images from Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2018 is Forest on a tree by Antonio Fernandez. This huge tilo tree (evergreen laurel) is found only in Madeira and the Canary Islands.

The image creates a perfect visual summary of the delicacy of our planet. Whilst nature is strong enough to have created life on this tree, this little ecosystem perches on a branch, dependent on all elements to remain in balance to survive.

Our vision is and always has been to have a positive impact on people and the planet through producing the highest quality organic teas and herbal products. This guides our approach to growing, collecting and processing the essential herbs we source.

As well as growing and collecting our herbs using certified organic methods, we’re also aiming to protect more habitats through schemes like FairWild.

FairWild is based on similar principles to Fairtrade. The difference is that FairWild is designed specifically for plant ingredients that have been collected from the wild. The FairWild logo on our teas provides a guarantee that the plants have been harvested in a sustainable way and that the collectors have been paid fairly for their work.

You can see our FairWild films in the exhibition and take away a selection of our FairWild certified teas. Look for the logo and shout loud about FairWild.

We love taking photographs of herbs at Pukka. It’s one of my favourite exercises when visiting our herb farms and I consider myself a micro geek at macrophotography.

Here’s all our best Pukka wishes to you all for a peaceful and rejuvenating 2019.