A team of 70 volunteers have planted 15,000 trees and hedgerows across the Matterdale Valley.
Organised by charity Another Way, the trees and hedgerows were provided via a grant from The Tree Council, the saplings planted included oaks, blackthorn, hawthorn, alder blackthorn, rowen, bird cherry and hazel.
Niamh Lynch, who has taken a year out before going to university and has chosen to spend some of this time supporting Another Way projects, said: “It can be quite daunting seeing the damage humans have done to the planet however I have found getting out there and doing something shows that each action taken individually and together as a community can make a significant difference.
“It is hugely satisfying to look back across the landscape at the end of the day and see the rows and rows of hedgerows we have planted knowing how they will support the environment.”
Robin Edmondson landowner and farmer at the site of one of the planting projects added: “The hedgerows provide vital year-round shelter for our livestock and the wildlife that lives within them. It is recognised the presence of trees in agricultural areas help with the regeneration of soil and improves the nutritional value of the land.”
Volunteers included a student from Penrith’s Queen Elizabeth Grammar School who had made some environmental new year resolutions, a man who wanted to plant 40 trees for his 40th birthday and a couple from Lancaster. Guests at the Victorian House Hotel in Grasmere also contributed as part of the hotel’s carbon improvement scheme.
