By Jacob Elomri

Thousands of trees have been planted on Marsden Moor as part of a new forest scheme.

The White Rose Forest spans North and West Yorkshire and has seen an incredible 800,000 new trees planted this year alone.

As part of the project the National Trust and Yorkshire Water teamed up to plant 65,000 trees at March Haigh near Marsden.

Backed by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) the planting scheme aims to boost the environment and reduce the risk of flooding.

 

 

The White Rose Forest’s programme director Guy Thompson said: “Tree planting in the White Rose Forest area has more than doubled over the last year, which is a big boost for biodiversity, climate resilience and the health and wellbeing of our communities across North and West Yorkshire.

“We could not have achieved this without Defra funding and the commitment and long-term vision of all our landowners.”

Mayor of West Yorkshire Tracy Brabin launched the March Haigh project earlier this year.

Project lead for the National Trust, Jess Yorke, said: “The completion of phase 1 and the planting of 65,000 trees feels like a milestone in what we are trying to achieve with Landscapes for Water. By creating these clough woodlands we are protecting the landscape for the future.”

Over the next five years some 350 hectares of new native woodland will be planted across five main areas of the South Pennines – around 300,000 trees – co-ordinated by National Trust rangers and members of Colne Valley Tree Society.