Landowners urged to sign up to free tree scheme

The park says trees can be planted near existing boundaries such as walls and hedges

Landowners in a national park are being offered free trees to support the area's future.

The North York Moors National Park Authority (NYMNPA) said the scheme aims to maintain the park's landscape and play a role in addressing the challenges posed by climate change.

Anyone with space to plant between 10 and 20 trees can participate in the Landscape Tree Scheme, the park said.

The park hopes the saplings planted will address the impact on the landscape of the park through the expected loss of ash trees due to widespread ash dieback disease.

Sam Newton woodland creation officer said the saplings can be planted in fields and open spaces and when mature would provide shade for grazing animals.

They can also be planted along existing hedgerows with minimal impact on land use.

“It’s especially critical at the moment,” he said.

"We’re witnessing the loss of so many of our ash trees due to widespread ash dieback."

The scheme provides the trees for free and covers 100% of the costs involved, including three years maintenance.

A mixture of species is usually planted, helping to future-proof their survival by reducing disease risks.

"'When we look 200 or even 500 years into the future, we need to see the next generation of those gnarly, creviced ancient trees that support vast numbers of insects and fascinate everyone who sees them."

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