Fundraising Endeavours by WICKED Raises Money for the Planting of Over 5000 New Trees by The Woodland Trust

Thanks to donations from Wicked fans from across the UK, over £8,500 has been raised in 2016 for the Woodland Trust to create new woods as part of the production's annual Wicked DAY charitable fundraising activities. This year, the hit musical raised enough money to plant over 5,700 trees.

Last week, to mark the occasion, Wicked stars Suzie Mathers (Glinda), Oliver Savile (Fiyero), Idriss Kargbo (Boq) and Martin Ball (Doctor Dillamond) braved torrential rain and strong winds to help plant the first of the new trees.

2016 marked the sixth year of the partnership between the long-running musical and the Woodland Trust, which forms part of the production's wider philanthropic programme, Wicked: FOR GOOD, which has raised almost £60,000 for the green charity in total. This has, to date, enabled the charity to plant 39,492 trees across the UK, creating new woodland spaces for the benefit of both people and wildlife.

Some of this year's fundraising endeavours included an eBay auction, where numerous Wicked-themed items and experiences were auctioned off, including a series of unique, cast-personalised garden gnomes. Other experiences included an afternoon tea with Elphaba and Glinda, a private dance workshop with the production's Dance Captain, a 'Greenifying' experience with Rachel Tucker (Elphaba) and the makeup department. Two auction winners were also invited to join the cast at the planting event.

Woodland Trust Chief Executive Beccy Speight, said: said: "We are so grateful to fans of Wicked and the team behind the musical itself for the brilliant donations. It is a real achievement that they have helped us to plant almost 40,000 trees. It is quite fitting that each one of these musical-funded trees will actually boost nature's orchestra by providing homes for birds such as blue tits and blackbirds . And of course these trees will be a brilliant place to visit and enjoy. A big thanks from the Woodland Trust."

Michael McCabe, Executive Producer (UK) of Wicked added: "We are extremely proud and honoured to to support the incredible work of the Woodland Trust and continue our long-standing partnership. This year, through the fantastic generosity of our audiences and much appreciated support of our cast, we have been able to raise funds for the planting of another 5700 new trees".

Some of the trees funded by Wicked have been planted at Heartwood Forest in Hertfordshire. Over half a million trees have been planted by The Woodland Trust since 2009 at the 850 acre site, creating new wildlife habitats for species like the rare corn bunting, meadow brown butterfly and pygmy shrew and helping link up existing pockets of rare ancient woodland.

Find out more about the charity's work at www.woodlandtrust.org.uk

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