The first of one million trees has been planted at Fox Green in Creswell as part of Bolsover District Council’s Community Woodlands project.
Creswell is at the forefront of the Council’s efforts to tackle climate change as a £270k grant from the Woodland Trust will see up to 27,500 trees planted in and around the village.
Local Councillor for Elmton-with-Creswell Parish Council, Duncan McGregor had the honour of planting the first tree on the initial phase of the project at Fox Green, which is part of the Council’s ambitions to plant one million trees across Bolsover District.
Bolsover District Council’s Deputy Leader, Cllr Duncan McGregor, said “I was delighted to have been able to plant the first tree. We all know about climate change and the devastation it is causing throughout the world and this small contribution, albeit a very important one, will help tackle the problem.”
1,000 tree whips will be planted before Christmas around the edges of Fox Green, an important green space in Creswell. The trees have been funded by Robert Woodhead Ltd as part of their Climate Action Framework and will be planted on land managed and owned by Elmton with Creswell Parish Council.
Beyond this, it is planned that a further 6,500 tree whips will be planted between January and March 2022 and that the remaining 20,000 trees will be planted by March 2024 on the Welbeck Estate owned former Creswell Colliery site to the south of Fox Green.
The former Creswell Colliery site is the flagship site within our programme of community woodlands and will see tree planting and woodland management work as part of the creation of a community woodland for the village of Creswell and its surrounds.
Cllr McGregor added, “Once all the areas have been planted and the trees start to grow it will be a wonderful gateway to the village that will form an excellent link to the archaeological way and Creswell Crags. We are thankful to Robert Woodhead Ltd who donated these initial trees and I am hopeful that it will encourage other areas to follow suit, look at what we have done and plant some trees to help tackle climate change and for the benefit community.”
The Council’s ambition also extends to increasing the resilience of existing woodlands and creating, repairing and connecting woodland and other important habitats in the District to establish a more managed approach to these areas.
Tom Woodhead, Business Services Director at Robert Woodhead Limited said,
“We are delighted to be part of this fantastic project by funding the first tranche of 1,000 trees. Whilst tree planting is a positive step, we recognise that carbon offsetting is a small piece of the puzzle to tackle the climate emergency. We are excited to be working with Bolsover District Council on other sustainable solutions such as the Future Homes Standard to help meet our ambitious target to be a climate positive contractor by December 2029.”
The Bolsover Community Woodlands project sources trees from W. Crowder & Sons Ltd, a UK and Ireland Sourced and Grown accredited tree nursery based in Horncastle, Lincolnshire. It also draws upon landscape consultancy from DSA Environment + Design Ltd, based in Nottingham.
Cllr McGregor was followed by the Chair of Bolsover District Council, Cllr Tom Munro, Tom Woodhead from the Woodhead Group, David Singleton from DSA Environment and Design and Richard Smithson from Bolsover Woodlands Enterprise in planting a tree.