Muc-Off has announced a three-year partnership with Forestry England, moving its Project Green sustainability initiative beyond the brand's own operations and into the forests where its customers ride. The deal covers community trail maintenance days at Moors Valley Country Park and Forest, and the planting of approximately 3,600 native broadleaf trees, starting with restoration of ancient woodland at Vernditch in North Dorset.
BikeBiz reported the news on 14 August. Credit is due to Alex Trimnell and the Muc-Off team, and to Leif Mann and colleagues at Forestry England, for putting together something that feels considered rather than bolted on.
This partnership takes Project Green beyond our own four walls and into the places that matter to our community.
Starting from where the audience already is
The strongest part of this is its relevance. Muc-Off's customers spend their weekends on forest trails, and Forestry England looks after many of those trails. The partnership links the brand's sustainability story to places riders already know and care about, rather than to an abstract offset that's hard to picture.
It also builds on existing groundwork. Muc-Off already has direct sponsorship agreements at Whinlatter Forest and the Forest of Dean, and supports Watchmoor Bike Park. This new deal extends a pattern the community can already see, which makes the claim more credible.
Participation over announcement
Most brand sustainability messaging asks people to read about it. This one asks them to turn up. Community volunteering days on mountain bike trail maintenance give riders a reason to engage with the brand in person, with a shovel in hand, alongside people who share the same hobby.
That's a good way to build loyalty. Someone who has spent a morning fixing a berm with a brand's staff is likely to remember it far longer than a banner ad. The employee volunteering sessions, covering winter planting and summer woodland management, mean Muc-Off's own people are part of the story too, not just its logo.
A long, concrete timeline
The specifics help. Named species (oak, hazel and hornbeam), a named site with a clear reason for the work (replacing non-native conifers to boost biodiversity), planting from winter 2026/2027 with further seasons planned, and professional aftercare. Three years of planting seasons also gives both organisations a natural content calendar: each winter brings a new moment to report progress.
Channels that suit the message
Details of volunteering opportunities will go out through both organisations' social channels. That's a sensible choice. Social reaches the riders most likely to sign up, lets each partner borrow the other's audience, and turns every volunteering day into photos, clips and stories that feed the next announcement.
The tone fits as well. Trimnell's comments talk about bringing "the Muc-Off attitude" to conservation, so the brand keeps its energetic voice instead of switching to a sombre corporate register for sustainability.
What other brands can take from it
- Pick a partner your customers already value. Relevance does more work than scale. The right trail centre, forest or access group will mean more than a distant cause.
- Give people something to do. Volunteering days, trail builds and group rides turn a press release into community marketing and give you first-hand content.
- Be specific. Named places, species, dates and quantities make claims believable and easier to report on honestly.
- Plan for the long run. Multi-year commitments create repeatable moments for social, email, PR and organic content, and show you aren't chasing a single news cycle.
- Let paid media amplify real activity. Promoting footage of actual volunteering days is a stronger use of budget than generic brand values messaging.
- Keep your voice. Purpose-led work doesn't need a different personality.
We work with cycling and outdoor brands on exactly this kind of community-led content, and this is a fine example of it done well. Congratulations to everyone at Muc-Off and Forestry England.