Pit heap is spruced up!
A new wood shot up in County Durham over the weekend – thanks to the efforts of local residents who turned out in force to plant thousands of saplings.
At Willington Hill people braved the weather on Saturday (November 26) to begin the task of planting a 14 hectare expanse of former Brancepeth pit heap.
It’s all part of the Mineral Valleys Project, involving Durham County Council and The Woodland Trust, to create and improve green spaces.
The tree-planting activity at Willington Hill was led by the Woodland Trust – a charity which is keen to involve the local community in the creation of new woods.
The site was planted with oak, birch and rowan saplings. Careful planning of the site means that even when fully grown, the trees will not obscure impressive views to Bishop Auckland and Weardale.
Saturday also saw the unveiling of a decorative seat themed on the ‘twin peaks’ pit heap that existed on the site until the mid 1970s. Local children helped design the purposeful sculpture – made from railway sleepers used in the area - with the help of artist Phil Townsend.
Organiser Paul Bunton of the Woodland Trust said: “Thank you to everyone who turned out to help us plant Willington Hill and hope they watch its development with interest. Despite the wet start the sun eventually came out as did over 100 volunteers including local Army Cadets and one family from Scotland! We planted over 1500 trees in total . The creation of this new wood in County Durham is not only great for the environment, but for locals too who are encouraged to visit.”
County Durham currently sits at the bottom of England’s table for native tree cover – a statistic the project will help address.
The activity at Willington Hill is part of the Woodland Trust’s Tree For All campaign, which will see one million children plant 12 million trees over five years. It’s hoped that through the simple act of planting a tree, children will develop an interest in the environment and its protection. We are busy making plans for a similar event in March next year – so watch this space.
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For media enquiries contact:
The Woodland Trust Press Office on 01476 581121, email: 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). Access to its sites is free. Further news can be found at www.woodland-trust.org.uk
