Tree-mendous benefits to be derived from native species

The Woodland Trust points out that native deciduous specimens provide ideal windbreaks, deflecting the worst of the weather, reducing wind damage to crops, increasing crop yields and the abundance of pollinating insects.

In addition, planting native trees - or allowing them to develop in hedgerows – provides winter shelter and summer shade important for livestock welfare and productivity.

Jackie Morgan, advice and partnerships manager with the Woodland Trust, said: “Shelterbelts needn’t take up a vast amount of space - a five metre wide belt with just three or four rows of trees can be very effective.

“And hard-to-work corners - unsuitable for grazing and often left unused – are ideal places for new planting. Trees are certainly an investment and their benefits can be felt within a relatively short period of time.”

Applications for funding via the Trust’s MOREwoods project must be received by 19 September.

To find out more, telephone 0844 543 8700, email woodlandcreation@woodlandtrust.org.uk or visit www.MoreTreesMoreGood.org.uk