Volunteers plant thousands of trees in park
A NEW native woodland is being created in the North York Moors by volunteers this month.
More than 3,500 trees will be planted by voluntary groups in the National Park in just six weeks to mark the start of the Government’s Year of Green Action, which calls for people across the country to work together to improve the natural world.
The new woodland is being established on a site close to the village of Danby and includes a variety of species including oak, silver birch, hazel, rowan, crab apple, wild cherry, hawthorn and blackthorn.
Members of the public, youth groups, corporate teams and National Park staff are all involved in the project.
Joan Childs, head of volunteering at the North York Moors National Park Authority, said: “Volunteers have always contributed to the work of the National Park and are at the heart of many of our great achievements.
“What’s different on this occasion is the number of different groups who are coming together to achieve the same goal.”
Evidence shows that the North York Moors was almost entirely covered in woodland before humans started clearing it.
Today, just four per cent of the Moors consists of ancient woodland.
The change has had a “devastating” impact on native wildlife, with species such as the hazel dormouse and pied flycatcher now found in significantly lower numbers than a century ago.