The 20 million pledge
The trees planted as part of the Clough Woodland Restoration project count towards the 20 million trees the Trust has pledged to plant by 2030. ‘We’ve planted thousands of saplings across the hillside here,’ says Kait Jones, Area Ranger for the High Peak Estate. ‘The trees will become home to a huge array of wildlife. The new woodland will store carbon and stabilise the soil, helping reduce the risk of flooding lower down the valley.’
The trees are a mixture of native species, including sessile oak, silver birch, rowan, hawthorn and hazel. Each sapling has a guard to protect it from grazing animals. Once the trees are established, the rangers will remove the guards and allow the trees to grow and spread, free from human interference. ‘This is only the seventh year of the 50-year woodland project here, so there is plenty more hard work to come,’ says Kait.
More information on the Trust's pledge to plant 20 million trees by 2030 can be found here.