Young Farmers Club plant 420 trees for the Earth Trust

Last Sunday 28 volunteers took part in an ongoing project called 'protect your future' which calls for all Young Farmers' Clubs to plant a sapling tree per member across England and Wales and a group of young farmers took part in Oxfordshire this month.

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The trees were entirely funded by the national charity the Woodland Trust and with the help of Earth Trust the land was provided for planting them.

On a cold December morning the volunteers from the Young Farmers Club in Abingdon joined Tim Read, the senior warden at Earth's Trust to help restore parts of the woodland.

The Young Famers Club were donated 1-2 year-old trees for the campaign which were ready to plant.

Tim Read said: " They came down with spades and we went down to Little Wittenham Wood and we went onto a block in the woodland where last winter it was thinned and cleared of a portion of conifer trees to allow for more light in the woodland."

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Mr Read continued and said: "We're planting the next generation of trees, all a mix of broadleaves and ancient trees, reverting it back to the natural woodland."

The Young Farmers Club planted Oak, Hazel, Silverbirch and Blackthorn to try and revert the woodland back to how it should be naturally.

The volunteers worked to develop the woodland area to have trees and shrubs to create a diverse structure in the woodland and therefore providing a habitat for different species.

The senior Warden, Mr Read explained that by developing the structure of the woodland it encourages woodland birds, such as robins and blue tits which benefit from the natural habitat.

Mr Read said: "It was a really good day, we had a mix of seniors and juniors they were very good at working together and they got 420 trees planted in about three hours, they did a fantastic job.

Mr read continued:"It would have taken me two days to plant the trees on my own, it's amazing how much we can get done when we have volunteers."

The Earth Trust believe in a holistic approach to woodland management and put their time into creating biodiversity within the woodland and enabling the woodland to last longer and do more.

Little Wittenham Wood is an outdoor space that the public can enjoy freely and feel the benefits of connecting with nature.

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Wardens at the Earth Trust will be managing the aftercare of the trees and hopefully the near future will see more trees and species for everyone to enjoy.

The Earth Trust is heavily reliant on volunteers and generosity and it has volunteers get involved in tree planting and conservation work on a weekly basis as well as having corporate opportunities for groups who simply want to get involved.

Earth Trust always welcome volunteers and for more information about volunteering at Earth Trust visit their website at earthtrust.org.uk/support-us.