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Field & Stream
Field & Stream £300k funding secured to boost tree planting efforts across Wiltshire
ALMOST £300,000 will be spent on helping communities and landowners plant more trees in Wiltshire.
Wiltshire Council, in partnership with Swindon Borough Council, successfully bid for the money from a Government fund to deliver coordinated and appropriate tree planting across Wiltshire and Swindon.
Councils have received a £294,800 grant from the Government’s Forestry Commission and DEFRA Woodland Creation Accelerator Fund.
The aim of the fund is to provide local authorities with financial support to bring on board the additional professional expertise they need to drive tree planting and woodland creation commitments.
The grant covers two years and will fund new dedicated Woodland Officers to work across Wiltshire and Swindon.
The officers will assist communities and landowners with developing bids for grant funding for planting schemes; bring communities, partners, and landowners together to deliver tree planting on the ground; produce a woodland and tree strategy to guide further delivery of planting and more.
Cllr Richard Clewer, Wiltshire Council leader and cabinet member for climate change, said: “We’re delighted to have been successful in getting this funding. We are an ambitious council and this additional money will help us achieve our tree planting targets and ensure we continue to make good progress as set out in our forward-thinking Natural Environment Plan.
“This is work we can’t do on our own and we’re looking forward to working with groups and landowners across Wiltshire to achieve our collective goal of maintaining and improving the natural environment.
“It’s in everyone’s best interests that we carry out this project successfully and this funding, together with the support of local people, will certainly give us the best opportunity.”
The funding will help deliver tree planting targets over the next two years that will see planting of 111 hectares of trees in 2023-24 and 222 hectares in 2024-25.
The council is keen to hear from local community groups and landowners across Wiltshire and Swindon who might be interested in working with the council to deliver the targets.
For more information contact Paul Robertson, senior landscape officer: paul. robertson@wiltshire.gov.uk.
Picture: Pixabay New trees are set to be planted across Wiltshire
Pollution fines re-invested in the environment
MONEY from fines handed out to water companies that pollute our rivers and seas will be re-invested in schemes that benefit our natural environment, under recent government plans.
Water companies were handed a record amount in fines for pollution incidents last year as part of ongoing action to hold rule-breakers to account.
Since 2015, the Environment Agency has concluded 56 prosecutions against water and sewerage companies, securing fines of over £141m.
At present, money from fines imposed by Ofwat and those arising from Environment Agency prosecutions is returned to the Treasury. Under the new plans, ringfenced funds will go to Defra and will be invested directly back into environmental and water quality improvement projects.
This could include initiatives to restore water environments by creating wetlands, revegetating river banks and reconnecting meanders to the main channel of rivers.
Water minister Rebecca Pow said: “The volume of sewage being discharged into our waters is unacceptable, and can cause significant harm to our wildlife and sensitive habitats.
“It is right that water companies are made to pay when they break the rules, but it is also right that this money is then channelled back into improving water quality.
“Water company fines reached a record level last year, and moving forward these plans will significantly increase funding that will be used to recover, protect and enhance our natural environment.
“This is on top of the £56bn investment we’re requiring water companies to invest in improving our water infrastructure, as well as holding them to account through tough new targets.”
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt said: “These fines hold rule-breaking companies to account and mean record investment in our waterways. It comes on top of our requirement for water companies to invest in the natural environment.”
To crack down on water pollution, the government has boosted funding for the Environment Agency, with £2.2m per year specifically for water company enforcement activity, including at least 4,000 farm visits per year and 500 sewerage inspections.
Where water and sewerage companies are found to be breaking the law, they will face substantial penalties. This can include the Environment Agency imposing civil sanctions or pursuing criminal prosecutions, for which there can be unlimited fines.
CEOs and company directors may face prosecution where there is evidence and where it is in the public interest to do so.
Field & Stream
Wessex Rivers Trust repairs public access spot on the banks of the Test
THE last of the volunteers have left Chilbolton Common following the completion of an ambitious restoration project.
Chilbolton Common, a site on the banks of the river Test in Hampshire, has two SSSI designations (Site of Special Scientific Interest) and is one of only a few places on the Test where the public can access the river.
There had been significant damage to the river banks causing the river to become over wide and slow, reducing the diversity and quality of habitat for fish and fauna.
Wessex Rivers Trust, with the help of a small army of volunteers and students from Sparsholt College, installed berms at strategic points along the river margins.
These bundled hazel berms will increase the sinuosity and diversity of flow of the river and narrow the channel in overly wide areas, making the river more resilient to low flows.
They will provide a much more varied habitat, increasing the likelihood for growth of characteristic chalk stream plants; as well as creating emergent margins, providing cover for adult and juvenile fish and improving habitat for invertebrate species.
The project would not have been as successful without the hard work of the volunteers and students who gave their time. Volunteer, Martin Miles, said of his involvement: “I care deeply about the state of the aquatic environment and especially our wonderful chalk streams.
“It gave me an opportunity to help restore a piece of chalk stream into a more natural state.
“I thoroughly enjoyed building the berms and quickly seeing how the river started to repair itself, including seeing how quickly the trout and grayling moved into the newly created habitat.
“It was also an opportunity to meet and work with other like-minded people who have the same passionate interest in the environment.
“It was hard physical work, but thoroughly enjoyable and I would have no hesitation in recommending it to others”. www.wessexrt.org.uk/volunteer
Volunteers helping to instal berms made of hazel to help stabilise the river banks
Credit: Wessex Rivers Trust
FORESTRY Minister Trudy Harrison has announced that lead delivery partners of The Queen’s Green Canopy (QGC) with half a million pounds in funding to plant trees in communities across the country in honour of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
As part of the national tree planting initiative in Her Majesty’s name funding of £499,000 will be provided for a special programme of planting to be delivered by QGC Partners, including Trees for Cities, The Tree Council, The Conservation Volunteers and Earthwatch.
Working in cooperation with local authorities and communities, the funding will enable thousands of trees to be planted in over 60 locations across England, engaging communities that have limited access to nature and green spaces. The projects include:
The Tree Council will plant 69,000 whips to create 14km of hedgerow in up to 50 locations, which will be chosen to increase biodiversity, local nature recovery and future flood alleviation.
Trees for Cites will extend their “Forgotten Places” programme across five areas that are nature-deprived, planting a total of over 5,000 trees.
Earthwatch will plant 1,800 trees to create three “Tiny Forests” in urban areas with low woodland cover. These will be dense, fast-growing native woodland the size of a tennis court.
The Conservation Volunteers will plant 1,500 saplings and propagate native species, including 2,500 Oak acorns, in their nursery for planting in the future.
Harrison said: “The Queen’s Green Canopy is a fitting tribute to the late Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth. Trees are at the heart of our communities and today’s funding will ensure that thousands more trees are planted across the country in her honour.”
Forestry Commission chair Sir William Worsley added: “Healthy and productive trees play a vital role in tackling climate change and protecting biodiversity. They also make our towns and cities healthier, from improving air quality to providing mental health benefits, enriching quality of life.
CEO of The Queen’s Green Canopy, Dan Rex said: “The QGC is proud to be working with Defra and delivery partners to continue our programme of nationwide tree planting to honour the late Queen Elizabeth and build a greener environment for generations to come. This funding will make a significant difference to local communities in nature-deprived areas.
“As a partner of The Queen’s Green Canopy, Defra is proud to work with QGC delivery partners to bring together this special planting programme in honour of Queen Elizabeth to the benefit of local communities and future generations.
“The trees planted will become part of the living legacy.”
