Two new woods spring up overnight!
Two new woods shot up in Leicestershire over the weekend (November 5th and 6th) – thanks to the efforts of residents who turned out in force to plant thousands of saplings.
At Hill Farm in Packington, near Ashby de la Zouch, people braved the weather on Sunday to begin the task of planting six acres in the National Forest which will be named Achille Grove. Elsewhere, Sunday was a day of rest for volunteers in Battram, near Ibstock, who on Saturday planted 600 oak saplings at Battram Wood.
It was all in aid of the Woodland Trust’s Trafalgar Woods project. To mark the bicentenary of the Battle of Trafalgar, the Trust, the UK’s leading woodland conservation charity, is creating 33 woods and holding commemorative plantings at additional smaller sites such as Battram. The project aims to recognise the important role timber played in our maritime history and to honour the 67 Leicestershire sailors who fought.
Achille Grove at Packington has been planted on a site kindly gifted by Andrew Sumnall who is taking part in the National Forest’s tender Scheme1. Taking the name of the seventh ship of the line in Nelson’s fleet, Achille is open to the public. A crew of 40 locals planted the site with mixed native species.
Down the road in Battram, near Ibstock, 50 villagers pitched in to plant more than 600 oak trees. The newly-created area within Battram Wood, which forms part of the National Forest, is owned by the Royal Forestry Society. The RFS has been working with the Woodland Trust to involve the local community in the Trafalgar celebrations at Battram Wood. The Royal Forestry Society is a registered charity which aims to further the appreciation, understanding and knowledge of trees, woods and forests.
As well as budding oak saplings, come spring the wood will be filled with thousands of bright yellow native daffodils. The bulbs, also planted by volunteers at the weekend, were kindly donated by Marie Curie. The cancer care charity each year seeks help in creating Fields of Hope – hundreds of daffodils to brighten up the area – to raise valuable funding.
Organiser Jo Burris of the Woodland Trust said: “Thank you to everyone who turned out to help us plant Battram and Achille woods - particularly those who braved the cold wet weather on Sunday. The creation of these two new woods in Leicestershire is not only great for the environment, but for locals too who are most welcome to visit.”
The Trust’s Trafalgar Woods Project is part of the charity’s Tree For All initiative which will see one million children plant 12 million trees over the next five years in the hope of engaging younger generations with nature.
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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
The National Forest: The National Forest area covers 200 square miles of the counties of Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Staffordshire. Its objective is to increase woodland cover within its boundaries from an initial six per cent to about a third.
1. The National Forest Tender Scheme is a woodland incentive run by the National Forest Company in partnership with the Forestry Commission. Essentially the Tender Scheme enables an applicant to tell the National Forest Company what woodland they want to create and manage and how much money they need to do it. It enables landowners to diversify their landholding and business interests, create commercial and/or amenity woodland and can be linked with work that enhances or creates opportunities for recreation, access and tourism. Land entered into the Tender Scheme is still owned by the applicant. It is not sold to the National Forest Company or the Forestry Commission.
