The new trees were funded through the Tesco Bags of Help Fund, where shoppers get to vote for their chosen local charity cause. Cheshire Wildlife Trust was given £2000 which they have used to buy 1000 trees for the site.
“This work is part of our management plan at this reserve. During this project we have thinned out some of the mature trees to allow more light to reach the woodland floor. This will encourage the spread of woodland plants and allow the remaining trees to grow to their full potential and be as strong as possible,” said Adam Linnet, Volunteer Co-ordinator (East Area) at Cheshire Wildlife Trust.
Some of the woodland plant species that the Trust expect will now spread into the area include the yellow flowering lesser celandine and wood avens, as well as woodland favourites bluebells and wood anemone.
The trees that have been planted by the students of Mablins Lane Community Primary School, as well as the Trust’s regular volunteers have included hazel, holly, and hawthorn, which are not currently in the woodland. Some oak, rowan, and silver birch trees, which represent the species already in the wood, have also been planted to make sure that there are trees at a variety of ages to maintain the future of this woodland habitat.
“We hope that the hazel, holly and hawthorn will form a shrub layer meaning that the woodland can host more species of invertebrate, birds and mammals, which will thrive on the seeds, berries and leaves of the new trees as they mature, as well as utilise the woodland for making nests and winter hibernation,” said Adam Linnet.