Sirius shines as spotlight falls on historic site
Up to 500 schoolchildren and 150 residents and Woodland Trust supporters descended on Sirius Wood near Bath, to help plant nearly 3,000 saplings during a two-day mass tree planting event.
They were joined at the 2.4-hectare (six acre) site at Rush Hill, by members of Bath Rugby Club, the Mayor of Bath and Batscapes’ project officer Dan Merrett, who highlighted how important new woodland is helping safeguard Bath’s internationally-important colony of rare greater horseshoe bats. As Sirius Wood becomes established it will help create a natural flightpath for the bats.
Sirius Wood is part of the Woodland Trust’s Trafalgar Woods project, which will see 33 new woods created to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar, each of the ships in Admiral Nelson’s victorious fleet and the thousands of British seamen who fought with him.
Among those taking part were students from nearby Culverhay School, who were led by organiser and teacher Jane George.
She said: “All pupils celebrated a memorial day for Nelson and Trafalgar in school, before we got a chance to really make a difference to add to the beautiful surroundings of the school and to be involved in a project which has long term benefits to the environment.”
The tree-planting events at Sirius Wood also prompted a flurry of interest from local media with coverage from the Bath Chronicle and HTV.
Trafalgar Woods: For more visit website: www.treeforall.org.uk/trafalgar
Sirius Wood: For more visit website: www.sirius-wood.co.uk
