Sowing the seeds of healthy communities

YDMT’s woodlands team joined forces with mental health charity Growing Well to host a hands-on horticulture workshop which will lay the foundations for healthier woodlands and communities.

The workshop was designed to equip community groups with the skills to establish their own micro-nurseries where they can grow on their own trees from seed harvested from local woodlands.

Hosted at Growing Well’s kitchen garden at Tebay Services, the workshop included talks and practical demonstrations showcasing best practice for growing healthy saplings ready for planting out at locations across the Dales.

The Yorkshire Dales is one of the most sparsely wooded of the UK’s National Parks and increasing tree cover is essential for mitigating the impacts of climate change. Encouraging community groups to harvest seed and grow their own trees creates a supply of genetically diverse and locally adapted native species which are more likely to grow into healthy mature trees.

YDMT wants to create 6,000 hectares of woodland habitat in the Yorkshire Dales National Park by 2040. That would take the area of the National Park covered by woodland - currently the lowest of England’s National Parks - from 4.3 per cent to 7 per cent.

Carol Douglas, YDMT’s Woodland Development Manager, said: “The Seed to Sapling project helps strengthen our efforts to develop a landscape richer in trees, woods, and hedgerows, using locally grown stock from across the National Park. This project also gives communities a real sense of connection with the woodlands they will help to create.”

• Want to create your own community tree nursery? We’ve got a whole range of resources to get you started. Click on the link to find out more: https://www.ydmt.org/seedtosapling