News
Yorkshire Water Prioritises Planting Of 1 Million Trees
The creation of new woodland is being prioritised by supplier Yorkshire Water in a partnership with the Woodland Trust and the Forest of Bradford, as part of plans to help the White Rose Forest expand – part of the Northern Forest project that intends to see over 50 million trees planted from Liverpool to Hull over the next 25 years.
The proposed Northern Forest will span over 120 miles between Hull, Leeds, Manchester and Liverpool, intended to help support habitats for woodland birds and bats, as well as protecting species like the red squirrel.
A mixture of native shrubs and trees are set to be planted, such as beech, oak and silver birch, all intended to enhance biodiversity and protect the site’s archaeology while retaining public access.
It’s hoped that the Northern Forest will accelerate the creation of new woodland, while supporting sustainable management of existing woods. The idea is to create a better environment for everyone by boosting air quality in towns and cities, mitigating flood risks, supporting rural economies through tourism, timber production and recreation, connecting people with nature and also delivering health and wellbeing improvements through accessible local green services.
Commenting on the news, Northern Forest programme director Simon Mageean said: “England is losing tree cover. We need to make sure we are protecting our most important habitats such as Ancient Woodland as well as investing in new ways to increase tree planting and expand woodland cover in the right places.
“A new Northern Forest will strengthen and accelerate the benefits of community forestry, support landscape scale working for nature, deliver a wide range of benefits, including helping to reduce flood risk, and adapt some of the UK’s major towns and cities to projected climate change. The north of England is perfectly suited to reap the benefits of a project on this scale.”
We should all be concerned with saving water these days, with climate change and our growing population sure to have an impact on supplies all over the world. And trees are vital for water conservation, helping to improve water quality through reducing soil erosion and absorbing contaminants from sub-surface water, as well as holding stream banks in place thanks to their roots and absorbing and filtering water that makes its way into the soil.
Companies out there keen to prioritise commercial water conservation can start taking action now by rainwater harvesting, collecting and storing rainwater that lands on the roof of your premises. You can filter this and then reuse it instead of mains water for applications like laundry and process water, toilet flushing, vehicle washing and more.
A rainwater system can be installed on your premises, which will increase cost efficiencies, reduce your impact on the environment and reduce your water bills as well. Get in touch with us today to find out more.