Cumbrian activity centre plants 500 saplings with MOREwoods - and help from Birmingham students...
The deluge of rain forced cancellation of Glaramara’s planned tree planting day on November 19 for schoolchildren from Borrowdale and Braithwaite primary schools.
Stepping into the breach, students from University College Birmingham took up the offer to make their adventure tourism management studies even more hands on than usual, and joined outdoor instructors to plant as many as they could of 500 native tree saplings.
Glaramara’s new woodland is a result of a partnership between Bassenthwaite Reflections’ programme of environmental and landscape projects and the Woodland Trust’s MOREwoods programme of planting native trees on other people’s land – whose tree planting offer is open to landowners across Cumbria.
Much of the planting is now complete, confirms centre director Graham Oglethorpe, all part of plans to improve wildlife within Glaramara’s grounds at Seatoller, near Keswick. University College Birmingham has used Glaramara as an outside provider for its adventure tourism courses since 2004, he confirms.
“The weather caused havoc and there was no way the children could come along. We then hit a couple of dry days and the students volunteered for an impromptu tree planting at the end of one of their activity days. We are incredibly grateful.”
“In years to come, Glaramara visitors will be able to see the growth of such indigenous species as alder, ash, oak, silver birch, cherry, rowan and hawthorn. We very much hope the children will still be able to come up and see how the trees are developing and help with maintenance.”
Bassenthwaite Reflections provided locally grown saplings and the Woodland Trust supplied advice, tubes and support stakes, confirmed Peter Leeson, of the MOREwoods project.
“Tree planting is not only good for creating new wildlife habitat and sources of wood fuel for the home and farm, but trees also help slow down run-off after rain and increase percolation of water. They also take up carbon, one of the big issues being considered by environmentalists at the moment.”
Photos show College students, and include David Oglethorpe, Sharon Speight and Simon May, all of whom work at Glaramara.Notes to editors
For media enquiries contact:
The Woodland Trust Press Office on 01476 581121, email: media@woodlandtrust.org.uk
The Woodland Trust:
The Woodland Trust is the UK’s leading woodland conservation charity. It has 300,000 members and supporters.
The Trust has three key aims: i) to enable the creation of more native woods and places rich in trees ii) to protect native woods, trees and their wildlife for the future iii) to inspire everyone to enjoy and value woods and trees
Established in 1972, the Woodland Trust now has over 1,000 sites in its care covering approximately 20,000 hectares (50,000 acres). Access to its sites is free.