Protect Earth love to help landowners across the UK, especially smaller farmers, schools and charities. We can be involved from the very beginning, helping landowners to decide what they want to create on their land, offering expert advice on what could be planted where, and why. We can help them to apply for grants or find alternative funding. Then we find volunteers, plant the trees and then check on them annually, often with more volunteers to make sure the trees are making good progress.
Alternatively, we can join in at any point along the process when the landowners need help.
This year we came across a new and exciting project which we just had to become involved in because it was happening in our own back yard, almost literally.
How it started
Back in 2019, South Gloucestershire Council vowed that they would plant enough trees by 2030 that once mature, they would have doubled the tree canopy of the county, an incredibly ambitious project. Since then, they have planted thousands of new trees in public open spaces, on highways’ verges and in green areas within residential developments.
They also planned to create a new 30-hectare woodland at Pucklechurch, which will be the largest woodland ever planted on South Gloucestershire Council-owned land. Funding for the woodland has come from the government’s Trees for Climate fund through the Forest of Avon, as well as Pucklechurch Parish Council.
The Plan for Pucklechurch Wood
Between the end of November 2025 and March 2026, 22,000 native and climate-resilient trees will be planted by volunteers, with a further 22,000 the following November to March 2026-2027. In 10-15 years, the young trees will form a recognisable woodland, with some trees reaching up to 10 metres in height.
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Plan from the South Gloucestershire website. [/caption]
Tree species have been carefully selected to ensure climate resilience, combining native trees like the English oak, with a small range of non-native species including the sweet chestnut, also known as the European chestnut, which can withstand warmer, drier conditions.
South Gloucestershire Council are also planning to restore several historic ponds on the site and to create new wetland features including natural low areas called scrapes that capture rainfall and help prevent flooding. These are essential to ensure the long-term health of the woodland. Funding for these features comes from the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority (WECA) as part of the Common Connections project.
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The first saplings ready to be planted, next to one of the historic ponds. [/caption]
The Bigger Plan
In due course Pucklechurch Wood will become part of a much larger initiative. The UK’s new Western Forest, will eventually stretch across Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and the West of England (Bristol, Bath & NE Somerset, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset). It aims to restore and connect wildlife and habitats whilst creating new opportunities for communities and the economy. This new woodland will deliver lasting benefits for local people – from cleaner air and improved biodiversity to opportunities for enjoying access to nature. In Western Forest’s first five years, 2,500 hectares of new woodland and other tree habitats will be planted, with 20 million trees in the ground by 2050.
Our Involvement
It’s incredibly exciting to hear of such a large woodland being created on council-owned land in Pucklechurch, but even more exciting as our events organiser lives in the area, so we just had to get involved.
Phil, our chairman, contacted South Gloucestershire Council and Pucklechurch Parish Council who are also involved and asked what we could do to help. He offered help with informing locals and finding volunteers to help plant the thousands of native broadleaved trees as well as practical help on as many days as possible.
Planting began during National Tree Week at the end of November and we went along to lend a hand. Everyone was very enthusiastic and like any group of volunteers there was a diverse range of tree planting experience. Protect Earth was there to help show people the best way to plant a sapling, and to lend some of our tree planting equipment (we love our stake drivers) to make the process more efficient and enjoyable. The weather was dry and sunny which kept everyone in a good mood and working hard. There was a real community spirit and everyone had a good day.
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First day of planting. [/caption]
Since then, planting has continued every Tuesday and Thursday. All was going well until Storm Bram hit Pucklechurch on the 9th December. The wind and the rain proved too much, even for the hardiest of volunteers, and everyone was safely home and drying off by lunch time. Seagulls flocked across the field, possibly under the impression that a new inland sea had appeared.
Lots of Volunteers are Needed
With everyone hoping that drier weather is coming, planting will continue every Tuesday and Thursday from 10am until 3pm until 18th December, and then every Tuesday and Thursday in January and February, with all equipment provided. If you live near Bristol and would like to become involved in this exciting new project you can find more information on our Events page. More dates, including a weekend or two, are expected to be added soon, so do keep checking our website or social media.