Over the next three years, we will work with a growing community of volunteers to plant and nurture 40,000 trees to create Great Avon Wood.
by Heather Mack in Bristol, England, United Kingdom
With more funding we can care for more of our planted baby trees, ensuring the saplings become established and grow into mature trees. Better survival rates will reduce the need for replanting in the winter of 2023/24, allowing our volunteers to plant more new woodland in other areas of Great Avon Wood for the benefit of local communities, wildlife and environment.
Avon Needs Trees and Forest of Avon Trust have formed a ground breaking partnership to buy over 100 acres of land a few miles south of Bristol and create Great Avon Wood.
We are working with a growing community of volunteers to plant and nurture 40,000 trees supplied by the Woodland Trust. This is the largest woodland creation project on record for the West of England.
(Photo: Great Avon wood combining old and new woodland. Credit: Daisy Brasington)
Our young trees will need care and maintenance for many years to come. We are fundraising to ensure the long term survival of the trees and to make sure the site stays open and safe for visitors. This fund will help with tree safety inspections, contractor fees and woodland maintenance costs.
Our tree survival rates at other woodland sites in last year's drought were 87%, which is really good, but that was only due to the dedication of our volunteers, staff and contractors to provide the care they needed.
Great Avon Wood is accessible by those in south Bristol who do not have a private vehicle, with bicycle and bus being two easy options. Making this wood a well managed and safe space for connecting with nature will be vital for our many activities on site. Our range of public engagement events help the public develop the feeling of ownership of and engagement with the natural heritage of the site. Our skills development programme for woodland creation will help individuals enter into jobs in the green economy.
(Photo: Volunteers from Black2Nature heading out to plant trees. Credit: Rob Carnier)
Your donation will be double matched by the Aviva Community Fund so please join our growing community and donate today.