The 3rd year into the Northern Forest Project

Where were we?

We have been completing our 3^rd year of tree planting apart of the Northern Forest Project amongst playing fields in Hull and the East Riding region in developing the communities’ green spaces. We planted at 5 sites varying in sizes and location which were approved by Hull City Council to be suitable to plant upon for the 3^rd year of the project. We planted at Riley playing field, Kempton road, St Johns’s, Endike and Henry cooper; totaling to 11,500 trees.

Planting with volunteers at Endike playing fields

What were we conserving?

The Northern Forest Project has been running since 2018 and is forecast to last 25 years till 2042; where varying districts across the North will collaborate and plant 50 million trees within them 25 years. The proposed forest will run the whole width of England using the M62 as its backbone from Liverpool in the west to us on the coastline of the East Riding of Yorkshire. This area has roughly 8% of tree coverage within urban settings and along the outer margins of the larger cities, while East riding has even less than that average due to having limited margins on the outskirts of towns and cities. The forest scheme is led by the Woodland Trust and consists of four community forests divided up within the region: the Mersey Forest, Manchester's City of Trees, the White Rose Forest and HEYwoods within the East riding district. The initial planting which is underway is predominantly close to the cities with the aim to increase the tree coverage in some of these areas to 20% as some have as little as 8%.

This year TCV have released the figures of trees planted across the region which highlighted 65% of the charities planting was done by TCV Hull alongside with TCV York who were planting at Rossington Quarry near Doncaster. TCV Hull planted solely 42% of that total to contribute towards the Northern Forest-so a great triumph for my team. I helped plant a mixture of 13 different species which are mostly native broadleaf such as European Alder (Alnus glutinosa), Horse Chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) and Red Oak (Quercus rubra).

Planting with volunteers at Riley playing fields

What I’ve been actively apart of

I have been a part of the Northern Forest project the past 2 years as a volunteer, but this year was the first year I have been employed by TCV which allowed me to get more involved in understanding the background to the logistics and organizational contacts in planning, coordinating and undertaking the tree planting. I have furthered my tree ID and Latin name recognition since planting in Northern Lincolnshire by being exposed to new species such as Downy birch (Betula pubescens) as this species was not planted in North Lincolnshire as the soil conditions were not right as they were too dry. In Hull however, the soil is wetter. I identify Horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) having large 5 lobed leaves which do not have a rough spiky feel when touching the leaves compared to Sweet Chestnut. Scot’s pine (Pinus sylvestris) was another species which I identified. The ID of Scots Pine is easier than others as they are evergreen coniferous trees. The Scots pine is not a species naturally found in this area as typically would be further North towards Scotland. However, as we are planting in an urban area as it is done for its visual appeal.

St Johns tree planting

Community engagement

It feels rewarding to give back to the community and to allow woodlands to grow for future generations. This month while planting in Hull I have been boosting the social media presence for the TCV Hull office and as a result have had more volunteers become interested to join our ever growing team which included Students from the Hull Zoo Soc from the University of Hull and Hull litter pickers who wanted to contribute to the Northern Forest. I am also designing a poster to increase the number of our volunteers further, especially from the neighboring community where the office is based.

However, one downside I have found when planting in urban areas is the anti-social behavior from minor individuals at some sites who do not approve of us altering the environment for the better, they do this by vandalizing the trees which fundamentally affects our efforts in planning and workload and for future planting  in them areas. I think this is possibly is due to the lack of knowledge of the benefits trees can provide, along with improving the ecology and community wellbeing. Despite of this, I believe in the great work I am doing to be apart and to be making a difference for the future and furthering my career in practical conservation.

Why is this conservation important?

The trees planted apart of the Northern Forest project are a mix of mainly native broad leaf trees. At the end of the 25 years the forest will provide a leisure resource to improve people’s wellbeing, improve biodiversity and connectivity, reduce flood risks caused by climate change pressures of increased rainfall. The forest will provide a utility of improving air and water quality as well as provide a sustainable timber and biomass for industry.

Planting trees can provide a utility to tackle present pressures the world is facing such as climate change which is altering natural cycles and making them more adverse. Trees fundamentally help to fight the climate crisis. The UK has pledged to be carbon neutral by 2050. A young woodland can absorb 400+ tonnes of Carbon in the tree itself, roots, and soil. Woods and urban planting can help in reducing climate change. Currently only 13% of the UK is covered by trees, compared with an EU average of 37%. Trees can lower the atmospheric temperature as trees can act as natural evaporative cooling system.

Trees also purify the air, absorbing the Carbon dioxide and producing Oxygen. Other pollutant gases such as Nitrogen oxides, Ammonia and Sulphur dioxide are absorbed. Globally, forests can absorb and store as much as 30% of the carbon emissions from human activities. Because of deforestation the act of burning or clearing the trees results in releasing the stored carbon back into the atmosphere.

In the UK, flood protection is estimated to be £6.5 billion. Trees are a natural resource to prevent flooding by directly intercepting rainfall by slowing the rainfall onto the ground as the canopy will act a natural barrier. Raindrops on leaves will evaporate back into the atmosphere. Tree roots improve infiltration by 153% compared to unplanted lawns and will act as a natural sink. This will as a result promote higher soil infiltration and reduce runoff into urban drainage.  

The UK is ecologically damaged, 13% of the native species have been lost since 1970 and will only get worse if things go on unchanged. In the UK one third of all wildlife has declined which means 1 in 10 woodland species are at risk of going extinct. British native woodlands support 1 fifth of the UK’s Priority species for conservation. For example, the English Oak (Quercus robur) can support 2,300 species of which 326 species are solely dependent on their survival. As a result, species biodiversity is key to humanity’s survival on this planet. Fundamentally we depend on ecosystem services for healthy ecosystems and to support agricultural systems which rely on the biodiversity of UK pollinators. For a species so small, without pollinators we would not have crops to harvest.  Biodiversity can also supplement our lives for leisure purposes and that natural areas are good for our mental and physical wellbeing.

Henry Cooper in North Hull