TreeWilding

Who We Are

The Treewilding group is determined to increase the number of native trees in and around Menston in any way we can, to both start soaking up excess CO2 and to increase the number, variety and richness of habitats for wildlife.

Planting trees for bees at Neve’s Hill, Menston February 2020. See our leaflet.

See our completed Jam & Jelly Hedge in Menston!

Burnsall Riverbank

Treewilding members facilitated the planting of over 500 trees on the riverbank at Burnsall. The Appletreewick, Barden and Burnsall Angling Club wanted to plant native trees to stabilize the bank, which is eroding due to the more frequent high water events. Treewilding contacted Protect Earth, who were able to provide saplings and tree guards, and together with ABBAC the planting was completed in April 2021. Since then Treewilding members have been monitoring the state of the trees and watering them during prolonged dry spells.

Why Trees?

We are increasingly becoming aware of our swelling carbon emissions and the disastrous effect this is having on the Planet. Add to that the loss of plant and animal species as more and more habitats are destroyed and the earth warms up. Now, however, the solution that trees can save us, is in fact far truer than we realised. It is now understood that woodland is a highly complex organism, where trees not only fix carbon by growing, but also forge intricate networks with fungi allowing communication through the plants, and actually enabling much more carbon to be stored in the soil as the woodland develops.

Did you know that a single tree can absorb up to 48 pounds of carbon dioxide in a year?

What We’ve Done So Far

  • Set an aim to plant 1016 trees by 2021 (one for every 2 households in Menston)
  • Asked people to pledge to plant a tree in their gardens
  • Initiated a tree-ometer to count the number of trees planted in the village (we are hoping to display this in the library)
  • Started working with Bradford Council to form an umbrella group of local parties with an interest in Menston Park, with a view to finding areas we can plant more trees around the park
  • Started to try and identify land we could plant trees on

How To Get Involved

Menston is in the Northern Forest area, a government initiative to plant 50 million trees across the North. Consequently there are trees available from the Woodland Trust for communities like ours, if we can find the land.

The government is also giving funds towards urban tree planting, if communities can provide match funding.

We urgently need some land. We need land to ‘rewild’ and plant trees, build vital habitats for wildlife, and start the process of letting the planet heal itself. If anyone has some suitable land, of any size, please let us know.

Would you like to plant trees in your garden? The Treewilding Group would love to hear from you and can offer help in choosing a suitable tree or even planting if necessary.

If you would like to join us in our tree and nature promoting activities or have any questions, please contact us on trees@climateactionmenston.org.uk

Useful Links