Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Sixty-mile tree corridor to create a ‘super forest’
CONSERVATIONISTS have launched ambitious plans to create a 60-mile long super forest in honour of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Children planted the first three trees on a former Gloucester landfill site yesterday to sound the start of the race to link the Forest of Dean and the Wyre Forest.
A 60-mile corridor of trees, hedgerows and native woodland will stretch from the Lower Wye Valley and Forest of Dean in the south to the Wyre Forest, in Worcestershire, in the north.
Although the area already includes the Forest of Dean and the Wyre Forest, ash dieback disease and extreme weather events have exacerbated a fall in the number of trees in the wider landscape.
Now there are plans to increase tree cover and encourage bigger, bushier hedgerows to help wildlife and plants to survive on the land between the two.
Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and Herefordshire Wildlife Trusts have joined forces to create the giant woodland, which they say will be at a scale never seen in the region before. As 12 per cent of England’s population is within a 30-minute drive of the area, those behind the super forest hope it will create more opportunities for people to connect with trees and the natural world.
Three quarters of the land earmarked for the super forest is agricultural so farmers will be urged to contribute. A team of on-the-ground advisors will help them access funding to plant and/or grow and manage trees and woodlands across this landscape.
The launch of Severn Treescapes is part of the Queen’s Green Canopy, which marked the Platinum Jubilee of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Severn Treescapes is the name of the ground-breaking project launched on the eve of National Tree Week.
The project aims to support farmers to explore innovative ways of increasing tree cover while maintaining productivity, as well as encouraging whole communities to understand the value of trees.
It was launched at the Hempsted Landfill site in Gloucester, currently being restored by Enovert as an ecopark, by children from Hempsted Primary School. They planted three” “perry pear” trees, a traditional variety from each of the three counties.
Dr Juliet Hynes, Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust’s head of ecological evidence, said: “We’re so excited to get this project up and running. It will provide a fantastic opportunity for local communities, landowners and farmers to build a closer relationship with trees.
“Trees and hedgerows can help to tackle the impacts of climate change – providing livestock with shade in
Trees and hedgerows can help to tackle the impacts of climate change DR JULIET HYNES
the summer, fruit and nuts for birds and small mammals in the winter and increased water infiltration. What’s more, the wellbeing benefits of being in nature and around trees are well known and vital to our health and happiness.”
The project will be paid for by the Trees Call To Action fund developed by Defra in partnership with the Forestry Commission and supported by Gloucestershire County Council, Herefordshire County Council, Worcestershire County Council and Severn Trent.