Generations join forces to establish new Ilkley woodland (From Ilkley Gazette)

Generations join forces to establish new Ilkley woodland

6:40am Tuesday 23rd March 2010

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Generations of young and old have joined forces to establish new woodland in Ilkley.

Members of the Ilkley Rotary Club are teaming up with schoolchildren from as far away as London to plant trees behind Myddelton Lodge.

The project aims to link ancient woodland with younger trees growing north of Owler Park Road, allowing wildlife to spread to new areas.

Around 3,000 native trees, including elm, larch and oak, have been planted in a five-acre area fenced off with the help of Rotary funds to protect saplings from grazing livestock.

Schools across the country have helped out and more are being invited to take part.

Ilkley Rotary past president Dr Andrew Belton, who chairs the club’s newly formed environment committee, said they had had tremendous support from the community following disasters such as the Haiti earthquake, but that they were also aware of the effects of climate change on the environment and future generations.

“Our generation and our forbears carry a big respon-sibility for global warming and the implications for climate change,” he said.

“We hope to off-set and to minimise those effects for future generations and it has been our privilege to work with the next generation for whom the changes carry so much more significance.

The young people we have seen are at the forefront of protecting our world for themselves and the as yet unborn generations.”

The Myddleton Grange Project is supported by Forest of Bradford, which plants around 30,000 trees a year across the district, including in an area on Addingham Moor-side.

Ian Butterfield, Forest of Bradford manager, said ancient woodland was the richest wildlife habitat for insects, birds and plants and that linking this to new area of planting was important.

“The reason it’s good is that seeds from the ancient wood can grow and spread out and it’s a continued corridor for wildlife to move in,” he said.

Any businesses, community groups or schools wanting to help plant trees can contact Bradford Environment Action Trust on 01274 253440 or any Rotary branch in Yorkshire. To contact Ilkley Rotary, call Philip Chinque on 01943 601153.

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