A quarter of a million new trees for Devon

First ones planted this week

Devon's getting a quarter of a million new trees.

It's going to take five years, and the impending death of lots of old ash ones is part of the reason for the initiative, but the first saplings are now in the ground. It's a project called “Saving Devon’s Treescapes” backed by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Devon County Council and others.

More than 90 per cent of Devon’s native ash trees are expected to be lost due to ash dieback in the next five to 15 years. Saving Devon’s Treescapes will support communities in planting and nurturing 250,000 trees across the county over the next five years - with a particular focus on trees outside woodlands.

Devon Wildlife Trust is leading on the project on behalf of the Devon Ash Dieback Resilience Forum. The initial planting was carried out at the County Show Ground at Westpoint on land that will become a new orchard, and also marks the start of the tree planting season. Plans are already in place to plant many thousands more trees and shrubs at sites across Devon over the winter months.

Devon County Council chairman Stuart Barker, its leader John Hart and honorary treasurer of the Devon County Agricultural Association Sir Harry Studholme were among the dignitaries involved in the orchard planting, which included traditional Devon apple varieties such as Sweet Alford and Plympton Pippin from Perrie Hale nursery. Volunteers will complete the planting of the orchard over the coming weeks.

Stuart Barker said: “We want to encourage individuals and community groups around Devon to get involved in tree planting as part of this vital project. We need collective action from all of our communities across Devon to help the county retain its special and distinctive landscape character, while also supporting threatened wildlife and helping to address climate change.”

Devon County Council leads the Devon Ash Dieback Forum, which was established in 2016 to address the risks of the disease and is committed to replacing trees lost through ash dieback. Devon has adopted a 3-2-1 tree replacement principle, where three saplings will be planted for each mature tree it fells due to ash dieback, two saplings will replace a semi-mature tree, and one new sapling will be planted for each ash sapling lost.