First trees to be planted as one of England's biggest native woodlands starts to take shape

Embargoed to 00:01 hours on Monday, April 17, 2023

Photos and drone footage here: https://thewoodlandtrust.sharefile.eu/d-s32c68aa047f3422fbe4ad6ce91d5a6ad

(please credit Paul Barker Ltd)

“It’s green up north” – A giant boost for nature in Yorkshire Dales as charity looks to create one of England’s biggest native woodlands.

One of the boldest projects in the English uplands is about to start with the first trees to go in the ground at Snaizeholme in the Yorkshire Dales.

Here, near Hawes, the Woodland Trust is aiming to plant 291 hectares of a huge site with saplings which would create one of the largest native woodlands in England.

But it’s faced with one of its most challenging of projects – an unforgiving landscape which witnesses everything our weather has to throw at it, high hillsides and gushing streams alongside delicate ancient habitats such as limestone pavements and peatlands. It is a project where habitat restoration and nature recovery are as much a part of the plan as planting.

This first phase of tree planting at Snaizeholme has been funded by the White Rose Forest through its Trees for Climate funding programme. Trees for Climate, part of Defra’s Nature for Climate fund, provides grants for woodland creation within all Community Forest areas in England.

Al Nash, who is spearheading the project for the Woodland Trust, said this weekend, where the first of 100,000 trees will go into the ground in phase one, will be a significant moment for the Woodland Trust.

Mr Nash, a passionate Yorkshireman himself, said:

“I love the Dales but the one thing it lacks in many areas is an abundance of trees! Here we will be giving nature and biodiversity a big boost and creating a vibrant mosaic of habitats and a rare opportunity to create a sizeable wildlife haven for the north of England. Woodland birds will have a home here for the first time in centuries, and open scrub woodland should benefit endangered species like the black grouse. It's clearly a wonderful opportunity to create something tangible in the Yorkshire Dales for the fight against climate change, the work we do here will restore an entire ecosystem, lock away carbon for years to come, and help improve water quality and mitigate flooding in the areas.”

Many centuries ago, this ancient glacial valley would have been blessed with swathes of woodland stretching across the landscape but now the 561 hectares (1387 acres) site is almost devoid of trees.

It’s a stark situation repeated across the Yorkshire Dales National Park, where total tree cover is less than 5% and ancient woodlands only making up 1 % of that cover. 

The Woodland Trust is determined to change this. Thanks to a successful public campaign it raised the funds to buy the site, which includes helping to protect a significant red squirrel population, providing much-needed habitat for this threatened native species.

Snaizeholme really will be a unique and complex piece of conservation work due the range of habitats and species, the topography and elevation – not to mention the estimated 2m of rainfall per year. Tree planting will exist alongside huge restoration projects, including 113 hectares  (279 acres) of blanket bog / deep peat ,  approximately 100 ha  (247 acres) of limestone pavement and over 77.4 hectares ( 191 acres) of open valley bottom following Snaizeholme Beck.

The Trust is planning to plant almost 291 hectares  (719 acres) with native tree saplings. The careful approach to planting will see different densities of trees planting across the site to create groves, glades and open woodlands that gently transition into and connect with the other habitats, all delivered without the use plastic tree guards or herbicides. Due to the complexities, the number of trees that will go into the ground will be determined as the project progresses and the Trust will work closely with the University of Leeds and the University of York.

The project at Snaizeholme is supported by our corporate partners Aviva, B&Q, Screwfix, Bettys & Taylors Group of Harrogate.

It will create a truly unique variety of habitats in one valley, close to the Three Peaks Walk and Pennine Way, in what will be a flagship project for the White Rose Forest and Northern Forest.

Guy Thompson, Director of the White Rose Forest said:

“We are delighted to see tree planting underway at Snaizeholme. This truly outstanding project will not only bring numerous benefits to the Dales and its communities but also demonstrates the continued commitment of the White Rose Forest to deliver landscape scale projects for natural flood management and nature recovery in Yorkshire.”

Key aims of the Woodland Trust at Snaizeholme:

• It will become a flagship woodland creation project for the White Rose Forest, the Community Forest for North and West Yorkshire, and the Northern Forest, a partnership between the Woodland Trust and some of the Community Forests in the north of England.

• The project as a whole will deliver against the YDNPA ‘Dales Woodland Strategy’ This new strategy sets an ambition to enhance the landscape by creating 6,000 ha of woodland habitat in the Yorkshire Dales National Park by 2030. That would take the area of the National Park covered by woodland from 4.3% to 7%.

• There are over 250 acres of upland peatbog, crucial carbon sinks – the Trust will look to restore them working with the Yorkshire Peat Partnership

• With a staggering 21 (42km!) streams running down into Snaizeholme Beck, there is a huge amount of work needed to slow the headlong rush of flood water during heavy rains that contributes to flooding in urban areas downstream.

• Long term research collaboration with the University of Leeds and the University of York – including monitoring the development of woodland and water quality on site.

• Have a site free of all plastic tree protection. The Woodland Trust vowed to cease the use of any new plastic tree protection at its sites by the end of 2021.

More on plans at Snaizeholme:- https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/support-us/give/appeals/snaizeholme/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIgvj7y-qh_gIVxvftCh3hUQtKEAAYASAAEgK10_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Ends

Notes to editors

For more details on this release, contact Andy Bond in the Woodland Trust press office 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.

About Trees for Climate and the Government’s Nature for Climate Fund

Trees for Climate is a woodland creation funding programme managed by England’s Community Forests and is part of the Government’s Nature for Climate Fund and England Trees Action Plan. Trees are at the forefront of the Government’s plans to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, to help to bend the curve of biodiversity loss, improve the environment and to create thousands of green jobs while better connecting people with nature.  The England Trees Action Plan, supported by circa £750m from the Nature for Climate Fund, is a once-in-a-generation plan to help achieve this vision. We will see an unprecedented number of trees planted, protected and managed to deliver more for society, nature, the climate and the economy, setting us on a path to realise our longer-term ambitions for increased tree cover. 

About the White Rose Forest

The White Rose Forest is the community forest for North and West Yorkshire and a founding partner of the Northern Forest. We are experts in woodland creation and work in partnership with landowners, local authorities, businesses and communities to plant more trees across the region and improve our natural environment. We are planting millions of trees in our urban centres and countryside that will help manage flood risk, combat climate change, create jobs and provide happier and healthier places for us all to live, work in and enjoy. www.whiteroseforest.org

About the Northern Forest

The Northern Forest has already established over 5 million new trees since 2018 and is transforming the landscape from coast to coast and in and around cities such as Liverpool, Chester, Manchester, Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield, York and Hull. A partnership between The Woodland Trust, the largest woodland conservation charity in the UK, and Community Forests: City of Trees, Mersey Forest, Humber Forest and White Rose Forest is delivering this ambitious project. The partnership is connecting people with nature through the Northern Forest, creating growth and investment opportunities, reducing climate change and flood risk, improving health and wellbeing, supporting the rural economy and developing innovative funding mechanisms for the future.

Yorkshire Dales National Park Management Plan 2019-2024 updated November 2021

®            By 2040, resilient and responsive to the impacts of climate change, storing more carbon each year than it produces

®            Support landowners to create at least a further 450 hectares of native broadleaved and mixed woodland that enhances the National Park’s landscape by 2024, with priority given to projects that strengthen habitat networks, increase carbon storage and help to reduce flooding

®            By 2030, restore all degraded blanket bog/deep peat habitat to ecologically and hydrologically functioning bog that is actively sequestering and storing carbon, and is being managed sustainably

If you're planning a visit to Snaizeholme

Please note that there is currently very limited parking near Snaizeholme, with parking only for prebooked cars to the current Red Squirrel Trail. You can find details of the Red Squirrel Trail and how to book by picking up a copy of Go Nuts for Red Squirrels from any of the Yorkshire Dales National Park visitor centres.