Families and groups across the region are being invited to be part of a project looking to plant 2,000 trees over the next two weeks at the Great Avon Wood near Pensford in Somerset.
Local charities Avon Needs Trees and the Forest of Avon Trust have worked in partnership to secure over 100 acres of land near the village of Pensford. Great Avon Wood is the largest new woodland creation project on record for the West of England. Over the next three years, volunteers will help to plant and care for 40,000 trees supplied by the Woodland Trust.
Reflecting on the project so far, Dave Wood, Director of Avon Needs Trees, said, “It has been amazing to welcome people to the site and to see the new woodland start to take shape. We are grateful to have so much interest from people from the local area and also from across the region. We are thrilled to have planted over 4,000 trees but we really need help to get 2,000 more trees planted before the start of April.”
People can sign up at Avon Needs Trees’ website website
Avon Needs Trees is partnering with charity Black2Nature to run family-friendly tree planting days. Founder Mya Rose Craig (AKA birdgirl) attended the first event and was delighted to be planting trees with her sister alongside other family groups. She said, “This is an incredibly exciting project and this sort of action on a local level is really important. It’s so nice for local communities to see that positive change is happening and that they can get involved with it themselves.”
The race to get 2,000 trees planted by the end of the month is due to the fact that trees are best planted when they are dormant and not actively growing. The dormancy period varies according to the weather and the tree species but the end of March generally marks the end of the planting season.
People are encouraged to sign up for volunteering at Avon Needs Trees’ website
Donate to the Great Avon Wood Fund at Great Avon Wood Fund – Avon Needs Trees
Find out about corporate tree planting days here Corporate Volunteering – Avon Needs Trees
Great Avon Wood is a partnership between Avon Needs Trees and Forest of Avon Trust. Defra has provided funding through their Trees for Climate programme and funding for the establishment of the Great Avon Wood has come from the Green Recovery Fund managed by the West of England Combined authority led by Metro Mayr Dan Norris. The National Lottery Heritage Fund has provided a grant to establish a heritage trail and to set up partnerships that will allow Avon Needs Trees to attract and engage under-represented groups. All 40,000 trees will be provided by the Woodland Trust.