New wood for Essex
Hundreds of people turned out on Sunday (November 13th) to dig in and create a new wood for Essex.
David and Judy Starling were joined by 370 friends and their children, Woodland Trust supporters and members of Chelmsford Sea Cadets, in braving the weather to begin the task of planting 30 acres with 22,000 broad-leafed trees, predominately oak, ash and hornbeam. 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 throughout the UK - one for each of the ships that sailed in Nelson’s fleet. The Kelvedon plantation has taken its name from HMS Bellerophon. But her crew, finding it difficult to pronounce her Greek name, knew her affectionately as the Billy Ruffian and this wood, therefore, will actually be known as Ruffian Wood. The project aims to recognise the important role timber played in our maritime history and to honour the 134 Essex sailors who fought in Nelson’s fleet at Trafalgar.
One of the seamen being honoured is Captain John Cooke who commanded Bellerophon at Trafalgar and was killed with 27 of his crew in the battle. Peter Lipscomb and his brother Alan, a navy friend of Mr Starling, are descendents of the Cooke family and were present to witness the planting of an area of the wood named Cooke Grove in tribute. The vicar of Kelvedon and Feering, Father David Reynish, dedicated a plaque in memory of the captain and crew and blessed the planting of Ruffian Wood.
David Starling commented: “Hopefully the Trafalgar Project, with its emphasis on involving schoolchildren in the creation of these Living Memorials, will help produce a generation for whom Nelson Mandela and Radio 1 DJ Trevor Nelson are not the only famous Nelsons!”
Christine Punter, Regional Development Officer at the Woodland Trust, said: “We’re very grateful to all the willing volunteers who came out and helped us begin the planting at Ruffian Wood - achieving an astounding 1600 trees in just four hours! Our thanks also go to David and Judy for their enormous contribution to the project by hosting the wood for us.”
Planting of the wood will continue this week, thanks to the help of local school children. Between Monday 14th and Friday 18th, pupils from 11 schools in the area will be pitching in as part of a closed week-long planting programme.
The project has been partly funded by the Hanson Environment Trust which kindly contributed £18,000 towards Ruffian Wood. It’s hoped that through the simple act of planting a tree, the children will develop a keener interest in the environment.
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.
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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
Hanson Environment Fund:
1. Grants made from the Hanson Environment Fund currently amount to more than £15.9 million.
2. Hanson set up its environment fund in 1997 using the landfill tax money accumulated by the building materials company. Hanson is the world's largest producer of aggregates - crushed rock, sand and gravel - and the third largest producer of ready-mixed concrete. Its other principal products are precast concrete, clay bricks and concrete roof tiles. Hanson has operations in North America, UK, Australia, Continental Europe and Asia Pacific and employs over 28,000 people in 15 countries.
3. The Hanson Environment Fund is managed by the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts (RSWT). RSWT is a registered charity, incorporated by Royal Charter, to promote conservation and manage environmental programmes throughout the whole of the UK. It has established management systems for holding and distributing funds to projects that meet Landfill Tax regulations.
For further details please contact RSWT on 0870 036 1000 or visit www.hansonenvfund.org
