Seed to sapling

Planting trees is critical to help tackle climate change and nature loss, especially in the Yorkshire Dales where woodland cover is one of the lowest in England.  

One of the constraints on tree planting has been the increasing difficulty in sourcing a diverse range of tree saplings suitable to plant in the Dales.

Skills shortages in the forestry sector also make it hard to recruit for the specific skills needed for woodland creation. More needs to be done to attract young people into the industry.

Community tree growing schemes in the Yorkshire Dales  

The Seed to Sapling project will help ensure the right trees are available to plant in the Dales by creating community tree growing schemes  where native saplings will be grown from local provenance seed. This helps strengthen our efforts to develop a landscape richer in trees, woods and hedgerows, with tree cover of varying types and densities planted using locally grown stock from across the national park.

We are currently developing community growing schemes in Crosby Ravensworth, Swaledale and Malham, where we are working with the Malham Environmental Group (MEG). These schemes will form part of a network of nursery experts to provide guidance which enables other community groups to set up their own nurseries.  

The scheme provides the tools, skills and materials needed for communities to set up and sustain their own tree nurseries. A key part of this will be to provide training in tree identification and seed collection, including seed collection from native ancient veteran trees. 

 

Creating a tree growing community

As well as working closely with communities to help set up, develop and sustain our first tree growing schemes, the Seed to Sapling project will also provide opportunities for a wide range of people to get involved in tree growing and planting.

Learn more about our Tree Growing community

We provide opportunities for vulnerable groups from towns and cities near the Yorkshire Dales to learn about and get involved in our woodland creation work - empowering them take practical action for nature and engaging them with the wider issues of climate warming and biodiversity loss.    

The community tree growing schemes will also provide a vital resource for our woodland trainees to gain experience and skills in the woodland sector as part of our specialist woodland traineeship programme. Find out more about Woodland Trainees. 

This project is supported by donations from our supporters and funding from the Trees Call to Action Fund. The fund was developed by Defra in partnership with the Forestry Commission and is being delivered by the Heritage Fund.

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More ways to get involved through our community programmes 

Through our Community Conservation projects, we offer training and volunteering opportunities in a range of areas throughout the year, including meadows, woodlands and house nesting birds projects.

Learn more about our Community Conservation projects

 

Learn more about our woodland work 

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