Figures show Harborough district has a very low level of woodland cover left - now volunteers have have come forward to plant more trees

A new group has been launched to urgently plant more trees across Harborough.

Harborough Woodland Community Volunteers is setting out to dramatically step up woods, hedges, spinneys and copses throughout the entire district.

And they have already recruited over 100 committed eco-campaigners in just five weeks as they start to branch out all over the patch.

The group is going into battle after revealing that woodland cover is a catastrophically-low three per cent in Harborough compared to six per cent in Leicestershire and 10 per cent in England.

Bruce Durham, who’s helping to run the initiative, said: “We have to do much better – and we have to plant more trees.

“We have no income, we are all volunteers and we will remain a not-for-profit community group.

“We have nowhere near enough trees across Harborough.

“We are determined to drastically ramp up the amount of tree cover here over the next few months and years.”

He said the EcoChurch group’s move “to focus on planting trees will hopefully attract more volunteers and increase the community support for much more woodland cover”.

“The Ecochurch movement could provide useful introduction to the village communities.

“We are working closely with Welland Rivers Trust, Harborough District Council, Leicestershire County Council and the Forestry Commission,” said Bruce.

“We are also starting discussions with the Environment Agency’s natural flood management specialists.

“Both Harborough council and the county council have supported my position as Market Harborough Tree Warden.”

He said they are striving to “enable new woodlands, trees and hedges to be planted by means of community support and opportunities identified through our volunteers and friends of friends”.

Bruce said they were inspired by enthusiastic primary schoolchildren and 100 volunteers having fun planting 1,500 trees at Fox Wood on the edge of Lubenham.

He said:

* There is a real hunger in the community to get on with something really worthwhile and a need for hope

* Trees and woodland provide highly-visible evidence of long-term positive change

* Our local woodland cover is only three per cent, six per cent in Leicestershire and 10 per cent in England.

Farnham in Surrey has 40 per cent

* The benefits of more trees include air quality, mental and immune system, summer cooling, flood risk reduction, economy and carbon offset. All ages can get involved including schools.

“We could also use woodlands in natural flood management to radically slow the rapid run-off of water and reduce the risk of flooding to our village and town communities,” said Bruce.

“Harborough Woodland Community Volunteers Facebook group has already recruited over 100 members in five weeks.

“We have had 13 enquiries since February over a wide area ranging from Great Oxenden in the south to Billesdon in the north,” said Bruce.

If you would like to find out more about Harborough Woodland Community Volunteers then check out their Facebook page here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/662107704605664/