Celebrations in Llandeilo as Tree For All planting challenge gets off to a great start
Local community campaign allows Coed Cadw (the Woodland Trust) to plant 12,500 trees on the fringe of Llandeilo
Tree For All, the ambitious new tree planting challenge by Coed Cadw (the Woodland Trust) got off to brilliant start in Wales last week when the charity succeeded in acquiring a 12 hectare (32 acre) extension1 to the existing ancient woodland Coed Tregib2, near Llandeilo. This will allow Coed Cadw to:
- Involve hundreds of local children in planting 4,000 thousand trees at the site, mostly alder, willow, oak, ash and assorted shrubs, as part of the Tree for All challenge.
- Extend the existing Coed Tregib towards the town of Llandeilo, making it more accessible for local people and for the first time linking new footpath access from the town and along the River Tywi.
- Create 12 hectares (32 acres) a new habitat for wildlife, particularly otters, as the land concerned lies between the existing Coed Tregib and the River Tywi. The particular value of this land as a wildlife habitat is reflected in the fact that the existing Coed Tregib has been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Rhydian Roberts of Coed Cadw says: “This is great news for Llandeilo and its local environment. Coed Cadw has been running an active campaign, together with the local community, to raise the necessary funding to acquire this land. Although we haven’t quite reached the ambitious target of £193,000 needed to meet the overall costs of the project, including long-term management, we were able to exchange contracts last week, and the deal has now gone through. A huge thank you is due to everyone, and every organisation, which supported the project, including the Environment Agency, The Brecon Beacon
National Park Authority, the European Union through Objective 1, the Council for Protection of Rural Wales, the Countryside Council for Wales and hundreds of local people and organisations.
Now that the purchase has been completed, Coed Cadw will be celebrating this success by organising a public tree planting event at Coed Tregib on Sunday 21 November on site from 10am to 4pm as part of Tree For All Weekend 3. Everyone is welcome to come along and plant a tree and to have some fun. Anyone wanting further details on this should contact Ben Earl on 01903 505169.
In January and February 2005 Coed Cadw will be working with local schools to give hundreds of children the chance to get involved in planting trees at the site.
Tree For All is the biggest, most exciting children’s tree planting challenge the UK has ever seen. The campaign aims to inspire a new generation of youngsters to reconnect with the natural world. Tree For All is giving one million children around the UK the chance to get to grips with nature and have fun planting trees. The campaign’s vision is that every child should have the chance to plant trees. Twelve million native trees – one for every child under the age of 16 - will be planted over the next five years as part of the campaign. Here in Wales, Coed Cadw aims to plant 600,000 trees, one for every child under the age of 16, and, more ambitiously, to involve at least 50,000 children in planting them.
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For media enquiries contact:
Rory Francis (Publicity and Public Affairs Officer for Wales) on 01766 832563 or 07760 171174
Afallon, Tanygrisiau, Blaenau Ffestiniog, Gwynedd LL41 3RH
Email roryfrancis@woodland-trust.org.uk
Ben Earl (Regional Development Officer, Coed Cadw) on 01903 505169
Rhydian Roberts (Woodland Officer, Coed Cadw) on 01745 818808
or The Woodland Trust Press Office on 01476 581121, e-mail media@woodland-trust.org.uk
Notes to editors:
1. The new extension lies to west of the existing Coed Tregib, and to the east of Ysgol Tregib, about half a mile south-east of Llandeilo, grid reference SN 634 217, on OS Landranger map 159.
2. The existing Coed Tregib is one of the first woods which Coed Cadw acquired in Wales, in 1983. It is part of the largest area of woodland in South East Camarthenshire, and is within the Brecon Beacons National Park. The wood occupies a gentle north-facing slope bisected by the shallow valley of a west flowing stream. Much of the site is permanently wet with heavy, slow draining clay soils. The ancient woodland is made up of oak and ash woodland with Hazel coppice together with wet woodland dominated by alder. The woodland is botanically diverse with over 100 species being recorded. Dormice have also been recorded from the site. The biodiversity value of the site is enhanced by an area of mire, which supports a range of wetland plants. Like almost all Coed Cadw woods, Coed Tregib is open for anyone to visit at any time, for free.
3. Families, schools and children can find out more and get ready for Tree For All weekend which is happening from 18-23 November. If you can’t get to an organised tree planting event you can still make a difference by planting a tree at home, at school, in local communities and even online. To find out more about Tree For All telephone 0845 108 1428.
Coed Cadw (The Woodland Trust)
The Woodland Trust is the UK’s leading woodland conservation charity. It has 250,000 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 awareness 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). These include 129 sites in Wales, with a total area of 1,580 hectares (3,900 acres). It offers free public access to nearly all of its sites. Further news can be accessed via www.woodland-trust.org.uk. The Trust adopted a new Welsh language name in 2000: “Coed Cadw”. This is an old Welsh term, used in medieval laws to describe protected or preserved woodland.
