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Lead PR Manager
On the dawn of the first trees being planted at the Woodland Trust’s new site - recently named Yonder Oak Wood thanks to a public vote - the charity has set out its plans to create a haven for wildlife.
Among these include the planting of 13,000 trees this winter, which will form part of a mosaic of woods, wood pasture, scrub, groves and glades.
The first oak tree will be planted at the site this week and will form part of the Queen’s Green Canopy – where people across the UK were inspired to plant a tree to mark the Queen’s Jubilee. Public plantings will follow in December.
Woodland Trust site manager, Paul Allen said:
"With 2022 being the Woodland Trust’s 50th anniversary, amidst a backdrop of climate change and the biodiversity crisis, we need space for nature, like at Yonder Oak Wood, now more than ever.
"At Yonder Oak Wood our primary aim is nature recovery and we hope that new trees, both planted and seeded naturally, will allow nature to bounce back. Woodland birds have declined by 29% since 1970 and we hope to welcome back the likes of willow warblers and spotted flycatchers – as well as butterflies such as the dingy skipper and ringlet. There is so much potential here."
Thanks to an incredible response to a public appeal which raised £650,000, the Woodland Trust acquired the 54 hectares of land in East Devon earlier this year as an ambitious new woodland creation project. Further generous support came from Lloyds Bank and through the Government’s Landfill Communities Fund, which enabled the funder, Biffa Award, to provide an amazing grant of £750,000.
The charity sought help from the local community to name the site that will celebrate the Woodland Trust’s 50th anniversary in the county of its birth, and almost 1,000 people got involved. The winner was Yonder Oak Wood. With stunning views and veteran oaks, this feels very appropriate and harks back to site’s historic field names.
The site is blessed with ancient woodland flora like bluebells, though these are currently shaded out by invasive laurel, veteran trees and oak pollards. Hydrological mapping has shown how water flows across the site and revealed opportunities to create leaky dams, wet woodland and other ways to hold and store water on the land, which will help reduce flooding downstream in local communities as well as create more habitats for wildlife. Leaky dams – inspired by the beavers which live locally – will be built by volunteers in the coming years using ash and alder that are growing on the site.
Paul added:
"Creating a new wooded landscape that will host wildlife way beyond our lifetimes and be resilient to the changing climate is no mean feat. We have been working to create a comprehensive design that will guide our work over the next five years, and today we’ve planted the first new trees that will kickstart nature’s recovery.
"With an estuary to the west and heaths to the east, more trees will provide much-needed shade for birds and other wildlife – creating a more resilient landscape. This is crucial as our summers become hotter and our winters wetter."
Lady Eleanor Arran, Vice Lord-Lieutenant of Devon, who oversaw today’s planting said:
"The first oak tree will be part of the Queen’s Green Canopy and will mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022 which invites everyone across the UK to plant trees. This is one of many trees that have been planted across Devon during this special year and will create a fitting green legacy that benefits people, wildlife and climate now and for the future."
Rachel Maidment, Biffa Award Grants Manager, said:
"Biffa Award is delighted to be able to support the Woodland Trust, awarding a grant of £750,000 to help purchase this valuable woodland, a haven for a variety of important species including birds and insects. It is extremely important that we continue to support projects such as this one, which promote nature’s recovery and provide a place for wildlife to survive and thrive."
Jeremy Hayward, Lloyds Banking Group Ambassador, South West said:
"We’re delighted to create a new woodland within Yonder Oak Wood through our ongoing partnership with the Woodland Trust. With the help of our colleagues and the local community we will plant 13,000 trees at the site by the end of the year. Creating new woodlands is part of our investment in creating a cleaner, greener UK and supporting the overall transition to net zero."
Join the first public plantings on:
- 3 December
- 4 December
- 10 December
- 11 December
Bookings will open in early November.
Notes to editors
For more details on this press release contact Andy Bond on 07725480434.
About the Woodland Trust
The Woodland Trust is the largest woodland conservation charity in the UK. It has over 500,000 supporters. It wants to see a UK rich in native woods and trees for people and wildlife.
The Trust has three key aims:
- protect ancient woodland, which is rare, unique and irreplaceable
- restoration of damaged ancient woodland, bringing precious pieces of our natural history back to life
- plant native trees and woods with the aim of creating resilient landscapes for people and wildlife.
Established in 1972, the Woodland Trust now has over 1,000 sites in its care covering approximately 29,000 hectares. Access to its woods is free so everyone can benefit from woods and trees.
The Queen’s Green Canopy
The Queen’s Green Canopy (QGC) is a unique tree planting initiative created to mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022 which invites people from across the United Kingdom to 'Plant a Tree for the Jubilee'.
Everyone from individuals to Scout and Girlguiding groups, villages, cities, counties, schools and corporates will be encouraged to play their part to enhance our environment by planting trees during the official planting season between October and March. Tree planting will commence again in October 2022, through to the end of the Jubilee year.
Biffa Award
Since 1997, Biffa Award has awarded grants totalling more than £189 million to thousands of worthwhile community and environmental projects across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The programme administers money donated by Biffa Group Ltd through the Landfill Communities Fund.
Landfill Communities Fund
The Landfill Communities Fund (LCF) is an innovative tax credit scheme enabling operators (LOs) to contribute money to organisations enrolled with ENTRUST as Environmental Bodies (EBs). EBs use this funding for a wide range of community and environmental projects in the vicinity of landfill sites. LOs are able to claim a credit (currently 5.3%) against their landfill tax liability for 90% of the contributions they make. Since its inception in 1996, over £1.6 billion has been spent on more than 56,000 projects across the UK.
For further information please visit www.entrust.org.uk or see HMRC's general guide to landfill tax.
Final image, from left to right: Judith Nicholson, Woodland Trust Regional Director; Sally Benthall, Woodland Trust Trustee; Jeremy Hayward, Lloyds Banking Group Ambassador, South West; Christopher Welford, ENTRUST Chief Executive; Lady Eleanor Arran, Vice Lord-Lieutenant of Devon; Stewart Goshawk, Biffa Award Chair; and Cllr Geoff Jung, East Devon District Council.