Spades at the ready for tree project

A NEW woodland and wildflower meadow is being developed in Hamsterley with the help of children from three primary schools.
The children from Hamsterley, Toft Hill and St Chad’s primary schools were out and about early last week to plant trees at the former wasteland behind the village tennis courts as part of a scheme to transform the area for everyone to enjoy.
The idea for the site was developed last year by resident Neil Malkin who, after liaising with the parish council which owns the land, roped in children to plant 150 trees supplied by the Woodland Trust last spring. Mr Malkin said: “It was a quarry at one time and it had gone to waste and hadn’t been used for many years.
“The whole project is around wildlife and future ecology. It will benefit the children as it flourishes and for the residents to see something grow. It will benefit everybody, including the wildlife.”
The latest venture is a collaboration between the parish council and Durham County Council through Outdoor and Sustainable Education Specialists (OASES) which saw the planting of more than 100 trees.
Grace Johnson, from OASES, said the planting was being done through the county council’s Trees For Children Scheme.
She said: “The aim is to plant a tree for every child in the county over three years. We are planting between 100 and 150 trees today. It is now in its second year.”
Mr Malkin said once completed the area would be surrounded by woodland with footpaths so that people could enjoy the natural surroundings.
He added: “This is a great opportunity for residents and the children because they have invested in it.
“To see the project grow from the initial landscape plans to seeing the trees being planted is magnificent. It will be a place for the community to come and enjoy and reflect.”
The parish council is also undertaking work to convert the dilapidated tennis courts into a multi-use games area and work is currently being done to remove a nearby row of fir trees. Mr Malkin said: “They were becoming too big and were inhibiting any light for the fostering of the new trees. During the storms last year some of them collapsed because their roots are not very deep.”
He added that the next phase of the project would be to add the footpaths and wildflowers which he hoped would be completed next year.