Thousands of trees planted – but let’s keep momentum up
More than 11,000 trees have been planted across the South Downs in recent months – but officials now want to plant thousands more.
Landowners, farmers, parish and town councils, schools and community groups in the national park have been urged to apply for funding.
The call comes after a tremendous public response to the Trees for the Downs campaign, which launched three years ago.
So far, almost £200,000 has been raised by the South Downs National Park Trust, the official independent charity for the National Park, which has set its sights on raising £260,000 to be able to plant 100,000 trees in total.
The tree planting is restoring those lost to pests and diseases, including ash dieback and Dutch elm disease, as well as creating new habitat for wildlife and amenity value for local communities.
The trees will be a mixture of disease-resistant elm trees and native species, such as oak and black poplar. Sites include schools, farms, recreation grounds and historic parks.
The trust is working with the national park authority’s woodlands team to deliver the project.
Sonia Lorenzo Martín, Woodlands Lead for the National Park Authority, said: “Trees are amazing and such an important part of the South Downs landscape, which has more woodland by area than any other national park in England and Wales.
“They give us clean air to breathe and are the life support for so many animals and other plants.
“This is a wonderful opportunity to be part of nature recovery, restoring habitat that has been lost, as well as creating new habitat for nature to flourish. We’re looking forward to seeing the new applications that come forward.”
Thirty sites across Hampshire, West Sussex and East Sussex have been receiving trees for planting over the past few months.
More than 1,500 trees were planted by volunteers at Wild Heart Hill, near Worthing.
Elms have also been provided for the community in East Dean, near Chichester, to create a new avenue of elms, replacing one that was lost many years ago.
Julie Blackwell, president of Soroptimist International Southern England region, said: “We’re delighted to be working with the South Downs National Park on their Trees for the Downs project.
“By planting 100 trees for our centenary, it is a fitting tribute to the first project of our organisation in California, Saving the Redwoods.
“It’s also a topical project for climate change and the environment which is high on our agenda.”
To find out more about making an application for Trees for the Downs, visit www.southdownstrust.org.uk/ trees-for-the-downs
The deadline for applications is May 15 and the trees will be planted between December 2022 and February next year.
The tree planting has been made possible thanks to donations from the public, as well as support from Aspinal of London, Cinven, Jude’s – a carbon negative B Corp, Nyetimber and South East Water.
Experts believe ash dieback could result in the loss of over 90 per cent of Britain’s ash trees in the next decade, while Dutch elm disease has already seen the loss of 60million British elms in two epidemics and continues to spread today.
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