First phase of tree planting completed!

We were very lucky with the weather for most of our planting days, if not with the underfoot conditions, which were very boggy! But our volunteers are made of stern stuff and got a huge amount of work done with good humour.

We were joined by volunteers aged from 3 to 87, as well as several groups including Orb Community Arts and the Knaresborough Nidd Gorge Conservation Group, who took a break from working on the paths around the river to come and boost our numbers. We are hugely grateful to all the volunteers who turned out to get the job done.

Once the trees were all planted, we turned our attention to the hedge along the Beryl Burton cycleway, which is sparse in places. We are planning to repair the fence alongside it in the short term, but are looking forward to the hedge creating a better boundary in years to come.

We have planted nearly 2000 trees and hedge plants in the course of 5 working days.

This aligns with the North Yorkshire Council Local Nature Recovery Strategy which has identified a priority for this area to "increase tree and woodland cover by enhancing all types of existing woodland and creating new species-diverse woodlands" and "create and expand wood pasture habitat as an appropriate buffer and connecting habitat between woodland and grassland sites.". (See Local Nature Recovery Strategy | North Yorkshire Council and Draft LNRS Local Habitat Map)