Generous shoppers at the Asda Superstore in Cramlington have given Northumberland Wildlife Trust four hundred reasons to smile.

The wildlife charity which has reserves across Newcastle, Northumberland and North Tyneside has received a cash boost of £400 through the Asda Green Token Scheme. The money will be spent on activities at its Northumberlandia site for the remainder of this year and into 2023.

Each year, the Asda Foundation, invests £1million into local communities through Green Token Giving, with each store choosing three local causes every four months to benefit from the scheme.

Traditionally, each customer is given a token at the end of their in-store purchase to support the charity of his or her choice via the Green Token box.  The more tokens placed in the box of a preferred cause, the greater the donation the charity receives.

The superstore in Manor Walks Shopping Centre in Cramlington is no stranger to the wildlife charity and its work at Northumberlandia and, in the past, has supported the wildlife charity’s community walks, Christmas, Halloween and half term events and provided Easter eggs for its Easter trails.

As part of her ongoing relationship with the Trust, Jackie Burt, Asda Cramlington Community Champion has even been known to pull on her elf gear and help out with its festive arts and crafts activities.

Speaking about the £400 cash boost, Frances Smiles, Northumberland Wildlife Trust Events Officer said: “With the cost of living crisis, these are really difficult times for many people, so the help Asda shoppers have given will ensure that visitors to the site, no matter what is going on in the world around them, will have a really great time at our events.

“For us to have received such a large amount from the Green Token Scheme also shows that more people than ever before are recognising the importance of nature in everybody’s daily lives.”