Big planting project begins with 100 trees, with ambitions for thousands
BURCHETTS GREEN: The Berkshire College of Agriculture (BCA) has started work on a project to plant potentially thousands of trees on its land, starting with 100 planted on Friday.
On November 19, BCA hosted a
COP26 tree planting event on campus to contribute to ‘critically important’ biodiversity.
The event’s goal was to contribute to carbon net-zero while restoring and maintaining boundaries with endemic tree species.
Jack Merrifield, BCAs research lead, is overseeing the project.
He said: “In five to 10 years (the trees) will allow wildlife to move freely around.
“A lot of species rely on these natural, green boundaries, reconnecting the fragmented landscape.”
This is the first step in an ongoing collaboration with Raleigh International, the sustainable development charity, which ordered the saplings from the Woodland Trust.
About 15 students, members of BCA’s Conservation Club, took park in the planting.
“It’s a good way to get young people involved in climate action, to get them thinking about offsetting our carbon footprint before going off to university,” said Jack.
“The change needs to happen on a local level for it to work.”
The college hopes to complete more planting projects in years to come – the whole scheme could involve ‘thousands of trees’, some of which off-set those planted that do not take to the soil.