Peak Park woodlands' care is target of £50,000 appeal

National Trust rangers in the Peak District are asking people to help grow and protect the woods for the future.
Extreme tree planting in the High Peak. Photo by David Bocking.Extreme tree planting in the High Peak. Photo by David Bocking.
Extreme tree planting in the High Peak. Photo by David Bocking.

The charity is aiming to raise £50,000 towards its care of more than 1,000 hectares of woodlands in Britain’s most visited National Park.

An initiative has been launched inviting supporters to donate towards the upkeep of woodlands.

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Ted Talbot, countryside manager in the Peak District, said: “In Dovedale and the White Peak, the woodlands are under very serious threat from ash dieback, a fungal disease affecting ash trees that is now spreading across Britain. In the High Peak we need to plant more trees to reverse the decline of upland clough woods, which are the small valleys leading up onto the moors. Both of these are often tricky and inaccessible environments for tree planting, being remote and steep sided valleys.”

Rangers at Longshaw are creating a native tree nursery to start growing saplings from seeds which will lead to the next generation of trees for Peak District woodlands.

Jon Stewart, general manager for the National Trust in the Peak District, said: “The funds we raise will help us to create a vital habitat and corridors for birds, mammals, insects and fungi, as the woods provide food and shelter for creatures like spotted flycatchers, dormice and birds of prey.

“We know that people love the woods of the Peak District and with the serious threats out there we need to act now to ensure they continue to thrive and give as much pleasure to our children and their children.”

To find out more and make a donation to the cause, visit www. nationaltrust.org.uk/peakdistrictappeal

o make a donation to the cause, visit www.
nationaltrust.org.uk/PeakDistrictAppeal