News / Trees
Record breaking tree planting completes new woodland
A record-breaking tree planting day has put the finishing touches to the Great Avon Wood, which is now preparing to welcome its first visitors.
The new woodland was completed when staff from West of England Mayoral Combined Authority (WECA) joined regular Avon Needs Trees volunteers to put in the last hedgerows.
Together they managed to plant 1,100 saplings in the wood near Pensford, the most the charity has ever seen put in the ground in one session.
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“Something amazing happened on that day,” said Vicki Cracknell, the outreach coordinator, who was astonished that 780 saplings – on the high end of a typical day’s planting for hedgerows – had been put in before lunch.
“The output was just incredible. It was a brilliant day, we had a group of people who were really capable and enthusiastic.”
Avon Needs Trees volunteers would typically be able to put in 3-500 trees or 7-800 hedgerow saplings in one day
The woodland creation is a flagship project for WECA which has supported it via the region’s Green Recovery Fund.
31,000 trees have been planted at the 100-acre plot over the last three winters, as well as a heritage trail being put in to guide visitors round the site which will be open for walkers to enjoy this summer.
“We’re incredibly grateful to WECA as they’ve made the project possible so it felt really symbolic that they should be with us for that day when we beat all the records. It felt like a really happy ending to the story,” said Vicki.
“We do tree planting in the depths of winter when it’s muddy, cold and grey – then you come in the summer and see the tree sin their growth phase, and lots of butterflies, grasshoppers, wildlife. It’s really exciting.
“It’s about the trees, and about nature’s recovery, but we also want to make this a space for people.”
The WECA team went into the day’s planting very determined, invested as they are in the woodland which they have funded with money from the region’s Green Recovery Fund
Avon Needs Trees are still welcoming volunteers to the Lower Chew Forest, where planting will continue until the end of March.
The creation of the ‘largest woodland in the south west for a generation’ was made possible through crowdfunding which raised £171,000 to purchase the land in just six weeks. Planting of what will eventually comprise 100,000 trees as well as wetlands, hedgerows and species-rich grassland over 422 acres started this winter.
Vicki is keen to encourage people to get involved: “The most amazing volunteers are our regulars who come back week after week – we’ve got a group of them on Friday, they just arrive and get cracking.
“They consistently tell us that they find tree planting is good for their physical and mental health.
“Volunteers say they feel they’re doing something positive for the climate crisis by planting trees – they’re actually out there doing something, getting their hands dirty, doing something collectively for the greater good.”
To get involved with tree planting at the Lower Chew Forest site, visit avonneedstrees.org.uk
All images: Alex Turner
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