Chester pupils help create Freewood in Malpas

Dec 10 2008 by Jo Henwood, Chester Chronicle

QUEEN’S School pupils from Chester have been digging deep to help the environment.

The girls, from the lower school, have planted trees in the picturesque Wych Valley to create one of the first Freewoods in the UK.

The project is supported by the tree conservation charity, the Woodland Trust, which is offering trees to landowners free of charge to plant new native woodland.

The youngsters from Year 5 planted the first of 3,500 native broadleaf trees at Wigland Hall in Malpas, where doctors Ian and Annabel London plan to plant nine acres to bolster ancient woodland in one of the most poorly wooded counties in England.

The Londons’ land includes a 350-year-old oak tree, which holds the status of Site of Specific Scientific Interest (SSSI).

Annabel said: “I grew up in this area and love the nature and wildlife that is all around us. We wanted to boost that by planting more trees and to leave a legacy for our children. They have already christened it London Wood.”

Annabel hopes that in time London Wood could become home to dormice, re-introduced 12 years ago further up the Wych Valley by the Cheshire Wildlife Trust.

Freewoods project manager Peter Leeson added: “We are passionate about the need to increase native woodland cover, not only to help wildlife prosper but also to increase the quality of everyone’s lives. Of the UK’s total woodland, only one third is native broadleaf trees, so we are delighted to find partners who share our passion for tree planting.

“Woodland offers green space for people for exercise and mental relaxation, improves water quality, reduces localised flooding, acts as a cooling influence locally and can play a role in mitigating the effects of climate change.

“Since the 1930s England and Wales have lost half of their native woodland cover so that England is now one of the least wooded countries in Europe, second from the bottom of the European woodland cover league.”

Queens Lower School headteacher Felicity Taylor added: “At Queen’s we are very conscious of environmental sustainability projects. The girls have already organised recycling initiatives and energy saving programmes at school and when we were offered us the opportunity to take part in woodland planting we were overjoyed.”