It’s National Tree Week – and what better way to mark the occasion than by making a start on an ambitious project to plant 5,000 trees all over the National Park?
As part of our celebrations to mark the Snowdonia National Park’s 70th anniversary, this week our Woodlands Officers will make a start on a special project involving planting 5,000 trees all over the National Park – one for each birth and 70th birthday in Eryri (Snowdonia) this year.
Planting 5,000 is quite a challenge, so to help us achieve this goal each Community Council within and around the National Park have been offered 70 trees to plant within their parish area. As each parish’s ability to accommodate this number of trees varies, there is flexibility within the project in terms of the number of trees, as well as the option of planting one large celebratory tree if no suitable or adequate parcel of land is at their disposal to plant a cluster of trees.
In its response to the climate emergency, the Park Authority is prioritising the need to plant more trees, especially as much of our older trees are nearing the end of their lifespan and the threat posed by the ash dieback disease. As well as their ability to store carbon, improve air quality and mitigate the effects of heavy rain, trees are especially important to biodiversity as they provide a safe and sheltered habitat for wildlife.
The trees planted will be native species including a mixture of oak, birch and mountain ash, grown from local seed at the Park Authority’s tree nursery at Plas Tan y Bwlch.
Rhydian Roberts, the Park Authority’s Woodlands Officer said:
“This is a very special way to mark the Park’s 70th anniversary as not only will it be of benefit to the natural environment, the trees will also form a long-term feature that will celebrate the Snowdonia National Park for decades or centuries to come hopefully!”
Although that only the Community Councils were approached, anyone who lives within or on the outskirts of the Park can get in touch if they would like to receive trees to plant as part of this project. Each cluster of trees or individual celebratory tree will be marked with a special celebratory plaque.
Notes to Editors
- The National Tree Week runs from Saturday the 27th of November until Sunday the 5th of December.
- A tree nursery was established at Plas Tan y Bwlch many years ago, where a vast number of native trees are grown using local seed for use in the Authority’s various tree planting schemes.
- For more information or to arrange an interview contact Gwen Aeron Edwards, Communications Officer – Planning and Land Management on gwen.aeron@eryri.llyw.cymru