Rewilding charity doubles original planting target
March 2024: Local Cambridgeshire rewilding charity, Creating Nature’s Corridors is celebrating completing its 2023/24 season AND more than doubling the planting target set for the year.
The charity aims to plant 10,000 native trees and hedges per annum but in just five months, has smashed this goal by 53%, creating 1.7km of new hedgerows and planting 21,247 trees and hedging plants.
Planting took place at 17 sites across the UK, including Cambridgeshire, Pembrokeshire, Kent, Norfolk, Berkshire and Oxfordshire, with the support of 687 volunteers who more often than not, were required to turn out during less than perfect weather conditions!
In the three years since the charity’s inception the number of planting projects has risen steadily with this year representing the highest number to date bringing the grand total of trees and hedges now in the ground to 31,389.
Cambridgeshire sites include Elsworth Community Farm and Huntingdon Race Course, with the final planting of the season taking place at the race course this weekend.
Brampton based Vhari Russell set up Creating Nature’s Corridors as a means to commemorate the life of her brother Rory who died of Sudden Adult Death Syndrome at the age of 37. Rory was a carpenter by trade who created amazing structures out of green oak, he was also - like Vhari - a passionate advocate of spending time in the natural world. His premature death led Vhari to take action to protect the countryside, rebalance the natural habitat and provide a more appealing landscape for local communities affected by commercial developments.
Commenting on this year’s achievements, Vhari said, “I’m delighted with the scale of planting we’ve been able to deliver, especially given the challenging weather conditions. Slowly we are starting to make a real difference to both local communities and those farther afield. Planting at the primary school attended by Rory’s children – in Pembrokeshire - represented a particularly poignant milestone and I’m sure Rory was responsible for helping to make the sun shine that day! None of this would be possible without the help of our fantastic volunteers who turn out, often over the weekend, and literally, dig deep to support the charity. We’ve some exciting initiatives lined up for the next 12 months so anyone wanting to play a part in one of our rewilding projects should visit our website – www.creatingnaturescorridors.co.uk - to sign up – and of course, if you can’t physically help with planting, a donation, however small, is always gratefully received.”
