Crosby Ravensworth Parish Tree Group
'Over 900 volunteer hours have been logged to date and the buzz from our volunteers has been great for community bonding.'
Drew Woodward, Crosby Ravensworth Parish Tree Group
Members of the community in Crosby Ravensworth are used to taking collective action – they've previously set up a Trust to provide affordable housing and bought the local pub to create a flourishing social hub.
In 2019, they set up the Crosby Ravensworth Parish Tree Group, hoping to restore and enhance the local landscape.
Chair Drew Woodward explains how the group came about:
'Like many good ideas, the Crosby Ravensworth Parish Tree Group was spawned in the pub!
A casual conversation about the loss of trees in summer and winter storms, and the lack of replacement tree planting, led to the formation of a community group dedicated to promoting the planting of trees within the parish.
With Drew Woodward as chair and David Evans as Treasurer, support in cash and kind was sought through the Woodland Trust, Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, Eden District Council and the Westmorland Dales Landscapes Partnership, among others. Technical support provided by the Woodland Trust was particularly helpful.
As the funding came in, we began progressively surveying the tree stock within the parish and agreeing planting schemes with local landowners. Of the 4,788 trees recorded we found 92% were over 50 years old and 75% were over 100 years. 24% were ash and many showed signs of ash dieback.
We called out for volunteers locally and soon identified over thirty people willing to help with surveying and planting. Over 900 volunteer hours have been logged to date and the buzz from our volunteers has been great for community bonding.
We particularly look to plant single trees and groups of trees within agricultural land to provide long term replacement for trees being lost as a result of age, disease and storms, and to promote the planting of trees and hedging generally within the parish to maintain and enhance the landscape.
In the three years since we began we have planted nearly 5000 trees and over 17,000 hedging plants. If every parish in England did the same it, would mean over 20 million trees a year being planted!'
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