An appeal to create a forest of more than 100,000 native trees on the edge of Bristol is close to a target of raising £50,000 by this week to get started this winter.
The team behind the massive project to create Lower Chew Forest set themselves the target of raising the total by the end of this week, and have an army of more than 1,200 volunteers ready to get stuck in to the job of converting a farm into the biggest forest in the south west region.
Back in May, a Bristol-based charity called Avon Needs Trees secured a £3.85 million loan from Bristol’s Triodos Bank to buy the 422-acre Wick Farm near the village of Compton Dando, in the countryside just a couple of miles south of Whitchurch and Stockwood in Bristol and Keynsham.
Now the charity has been fundraising in earnest, with a month-long appeal to raise £50,000 before Christmas and matched funding promises to get the project started.
The aim is to get trees in the ground this winter, and start the process of converting the fields into a varied landscape of woods and wetlands. “It’s a critical time for the project,” a spokesperson said. “We’ve committed to establish up to 100,000 trees over two winters. The planting season for trees is short. If we don’t start this winter, it will have to wait another year.
“Lower Chew Forest will mean taking immediate action against the effect of climate change, improving biodiversity, reducing the risk of local flooding. It will be a beautiful place for local communities and future generations to appreciate,” he added.
The creation of what will be known as Lower Chew Forest will not only benefit wildlife and the environment more generally, but experts say will be a help to flood prevention down in the Avon Valley between Bath and Bristol.
“The Bristol-Avon catchment area has lost most of its woodland and is now one of the least forested parts of the UK,” a spokesperson said. “The scale of this woodland project is immense, and one of major significance for nature recovery in the region. And it’s not all trees. Lower Chew Forest will be a mosaic of habitats including wetlands and species-rich grassland. It will recreate miles of lost hedgerows. As it grows, this new woodland will absorb thousands of tonnes of carbon to help tackle the climate emergency. It will have a huge impact on biodiversity, creating new homes for wildlife.
“Government analysis by the Environment Agency shows this new woodland, along with leaky dams and wetland habitat, would help reduce downstream flooding in local villages, Keynsham and Bristol by slowing the movement of heavy rainfall,” he added.
So far, the appeal has raised more than £45,000 with a target to hit £50,000 by the end of this week.
“These funds will go towards getting trees in the ground and everything that our amazing volunteers will need to do that; mulch matts, tree guards, pegs, seed, equipment, making improvements to the site, contractors, where there are time constraints, and of course, trees,” a spokesperson said.
For more information on the project and the Crowdfunder, click here.