Funding has been secured to create a new community woodland off Athorpe Road in Dinnington, where 7,700 young trees are set to be planted on former grazing land.
The woodland will be named the Queen Elizabeth II Community Woodland, as a tribute to Her Late Majesty and her Platinum Jubilee Queen’s Green Canopy initiative.
This project has been supported by the South Yorkshire Woodland Partnership and will be funded through the Woodland Trust’s Grow Back Greener programme, as part of the Northern Forest.
The new woodland will be a space for the community. The design reflects this with walkways and space provided for sledging days over the winter months.
Biodegradable tree guards will protect the newly planted tree whips and this will ensure that there is no plastic waste on the site.
Work has already taken place to prepare the site. Children from Laughton All Saints CofE Primary School took part in a litter pick day recently.
A community planting day will take place on Saturday 25 February from 10.30am to 3pm. This will be a drop-in session and local residents are encouraged to come along. Gloves and spades will be provided on the day. The meeting point will be off Athorpe Road (opposite Tesco car park).
Planting days with schools and community groups are also set to take place over the coming months.
The Council has made a commitment to achieve net zero by 2030 and is investing in staff, resources and schemes to contribute towards achieving this target.
As part of the Council’s pledge to tackle climate change, a target has been set to plant 10,500 trees in Rotherham every year for the next 10 years. Last year, the Council exceeded the target and planted 22,139 trees in the borough.
Councillor David Sheppard, Cabinet Member for Social Inclusion at Rotherham Council, said:
Climate change is an important issue and as a Council we are taking steps to respond to the climate emergency.
“The Queen Elizabeth II Community Woodland forms part of our efforts to create a greener and cleaner local environment for residents.
“There will be lots of opportunities for people to get involved in this exciting project, including a planting day, which is set to take place later this month.”
Matt North, Programme Manager at the South Yorkshire Woodland Partnership, said:
We work with public and private landowners to develop and fund woodland creation that’s of benefit for people and wildlife. We really enjoyed working with council officers designing a woodland that will be a home for nature that the public can enjoy.
“It’s fantastic to see the local community being able to take part in helping create and care for this significant project in Dinnington.
“If you would like to find out how we can help you with woodland creation projects, contact us on woodlandenquiries@wildsheffield.com.”
It is expected that all of the 7,700 tree whips will be planted in the coming months.
Notes to editors
- Photo caption: the image shows Councillor David Sheppard with staff from the Council’s Parks and Woodlands teams at the site of the new community woodland in Dinnington.
- A site plan for the community woodland has been produced and is attached, click here to view the site plan.
- The Northern Forest aims to establish at least 50 million new trees by 2043, that will help transform the landscape from Liverpool to the Yorkshire Coast. The Northern Forest is being delivered by a core partnership involving the Woodland Trust, four community forests - Manchester City of Trees, The Mersey Forest, Humber Forest and the White Rose Forest - and the Community Forest Trust.