Biodiversity Boost For Geordie's Wood
Thanks to a £35,901 grant from Biffaward, the Woodland Trust Scotland, part of the UK’s leading woodland conservation charity, will be transforming 17 hectares of former grassland land into a mosaic of native woodland and open ground habitat at Geordie’s Wood. The area will be framed by a traditional drystone dyke, which will enhance the biodiversity of the area.
Over the coming year, the Trust will construct a new drystone dyke from local stone to serve as a boundary around this woodland creation area. The dyke will make the main entrance to Geordie’s wood, linking with the other Trust woodland creation areas in Glen Devon.
The Trust will involve school children in the creation of this area of woodland as part of its Tree for All campaign. In addition to creating new native woodland habitat, these events will provide the participants with new skills and a better understanding of the environment. The Trust hopes to inspire a generation of children to turn the protection of trees and woodland into an everyday activity across the whole of our society.
Philip Gordon, Site Manager, said: “Over the last seven years the Trust has created 1,200 hectares of native woodland within the Glen Devon area. This additional funding, will help complete our vision: transforming former farming land into a mosaic of open ground and woodland, complete with public access and learning opportunities, whilst also creating a home for wildlife.”
Gillian French, Programme Manager for Biffaward, commented: “Biffaward is delighted to support the Woodland Trust Scotland, providing funding to purchase this missing piece of the jigsaw linking important habitats, as well as increasing people’s understanding and enjoyment of woodland areas.”
The project has been funded by Biffaward, a multimillion pound environment fund managed by the Royal Society of wildlife trusts (RSWT) which utilises landfill tax credits donated by Biffa Waste Services.
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Notes to editors
For media enquiries contact: Jacqui Morris on 01355 578777, mobile 07979 706675 or The Woodland Trust Press Office on 01476 581121, e-mail media@woodland-trust.org.uk
The Woodland Trust: The Woodland Trust is the UK’s leading woodland conservation charity. It has 300,000 members and supporters. The Trust has four key aims: i) No further loss of ancient woodland; ii) Restoring and improving the biodiversity of woods; iii) Increasing new native woodland; iv) Increasing people’s understanding and enjoyment of woodland.
Established in 1972, the Woodland Trust now has over 1,000 sites in its care covering approximately 20,000 hectares (50,000 acres).
In 1984, the Trust acquired its first wood in Scotland. Today the Trust owns 80 sites across Scotland covering 8,500 hectares. Further news can be accessed via www.woodland-trust.org.uk
Biffaward: In December 1997 Biffa Waste Services agreed to donate landfill tax credits to the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts (RSWT) to administer under the fund name Biffaward. Grants made from the fund currently amount to more than £90 million, supporting many worthwhile environmental projects.
Biffa Waste Services Ltd is a part of Biffa Plc Group. Biffa Plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE250 index. Biffa Waste Services is one of the largest single suppliers of waste management services in the UK. It collects, treats, recovers and disposes of municipal, commercial and industrial waste nationwide.
The landfill tax was introduced in the Finance Act and came into operation in 1996. The tax, levied on the tonnage of all material disposed of in landfill sites and collected by Biffa on behalf of HM Revenue and Customs, aims to encourage recycling and reduce waste by raising the cost of disposal.
The regulations allow landfill site operators to direct up to 6.6 per cent of the tax they have collected towards approved environmental projects. Under Government regulations only 90 per cent of a grant can be provided from landfill tax – the remaining 10 per cent must come from another source. www.biffaward.org
Geordie’s Wood: Geordie’s wood is a 235 hectare area of improved grassland, rough hill grazings and exotic conifer woodland. It was purchased by the Woodland Trust in 2004, with the support of the BP funded Scottish Forest Alliance (SFA) project and the active support of the local community, for the purpose of working with them to create a mosaic of new native woodland and open ground habitats to promote public access. It is located near Muckhart, by Dollar, 15 miles southwest of Perth on the southern edge of the Ochil Hills.
