Volunteers help to plant 38,000 trees

A 25-hectare woodland is being created in Cottingham near Hull

Volunteers have helped plant 38,000 trees to create a new woodland in East Yorkshire.

The 25-hectare woodland is being created in Cottingham and is part of a project to deliver the Humber Forest and the wider Northern Forest, stretching from Liverpool to Hull.

Native trees, such as oak, birch, aspen, rowan and wild cherry have been planted on land around Yorkshire Water's Cottingham pumping station.

The Woodland Trust, project lead for the scheme near Hull, said the trees would make a "big difference for nature".

The project is being funded by Defra's Nature for Climate Fund, an initiative funding projects aimed at tackling climate change.

Dan Wilkinson-Cain and Jackie Cain volunteered at a recent tree planting event

Alasdair Fagan from the Woodland Trust attended a tree planting session during the week.

"Yorkshire and Hull is known to be the least wooded area in England, 2.2% woodland cover, which is really low," he said.

"So 25 hectares on the urban fringes of Hull and Cottingham is going to make a really big difference for nature but also for people to have access to green space."

Jackie Cain, who volunteered, said she wanted to "give something back and make it look lovely for future generations".

Another volunteer, Lorraine Graham, said: "It would be absolutely great to be able to get out and see more variety of bird life."

Volunteer Lorraine Graham helped plant some of the tree whips

Richard Hampshire, a nature reserve warden for Yorkshire Water, said the new woodland had been planted as a home for nature.

"This space is now protected," he said.

"There's orchids growing down here, we've been hearing the bullfinches calling, song thrush, green woodpeckers, so loads of really wonderful bird life.

"All this on people's doorsteps, and it's safeguarded for generations to come."

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