Greenwood Community: Steyning For Trees
Planting wildlife corridors to enhance biodiversity
At the end of 2022, we made a donation to Steyning For Trees, a small charity that formed in 2019 to help fight climate change. The charity organises volunteers to plant trees and hedges in Steyning and Bramber, liaising with other local organisations including the Parish, District and County Councils, local landowners, South Downs National Park, CPRE, the Woodland Trust, and other environmental groups in Steyning.
Steyning For Trees shares the same values as Greenwood Community in providing environmental benefits to the local community. These include fighting climate change, improving biodiversity, enhancing air quality and providing green spaces and gardening opportunities which have a positive effect on residents’ mental health and wellbeing.
Greenwood was pleased to donate recyclable tree guards for a bare root hedging project along the perimeter of St Mary`s House in Bramber. The Tree Defender Pro Shelter Guards that we supplied are made from 100% recyclable UV stabilised polypropylene and protect young hedging whips from animals and adverse weather, maximising success rates.
For the last three years, Steyning For Trees have been planting hedgerows to create ‘wildlife corridors’. These habitat-connecting hedgerows enable birds, invertebrates and mammals to migrate along protected pathways. This prevents isolated populations from forming which inhibit genetic diversity. The hedges also provide a source of food, shelter and nesting material for animals.
The Steyning For Trees hedging project is part of the Weald to Waves network of wildlife corridors that are connecting fragmented habitats in Sussex. It runs along the major rivers between the Ashdown Forest, through the Knepp Estate, over the South Downs and down to Climping on the coast. The new hedging at St Mary’s House will provide a missing link to connect the River Adur with the Steyning Downland Scheme and Wiston Estate.
Greenwood supplied a mix of native bare root hedging including Prunus spinosa (Blackthorn), Malus sylvestris (Crab apple), Sorbus acuparia (Rowan), Crataegus monogyna (Hawthorn) and Rosa canina (Dog Rose). The benefit of using native species is that they are able to tolerate the varied soil types and the temperate climate that we have in the UK.
Bare root whips provide an economical way of establishing a hedge as they are good value, easy to transport, quick to plant and require minimal maintenance to get established.
Helping our local communities is a priority for Greenwood. If you would like to volunteer or donate to Steyning For Trees please get in touch. Check out our Greenwood Community page for more information on our community initiatives.
