by Holly Chapman | 27 May 25 | Nature & Biodiversity, News, Supplier News
Wyevale Nurseries has launched a new free Barefoot Hedging and Forestry Catalogue featuring its range of products.
Available in both a physical and digital format, the catalogue details each of the nurseries’ plant varieties, as well as the benefits of using them.
Kersten Catella, sales director at Wyevale explains how hedging plays a vital role in biodiversity and bird migration, adding:
“This booklet is designed to support confident, informed decisions for anyone in our industry, beyond our existing customers, and is for those exploring how to use hedging more intentionally in their work.”
Celebrating its 95th anniversary this year, the Hereford-based nursery hopes the catalogue will be used as a tool to boost biodiversity within amenity projects.
Find the new 2025 Barefoot Hedging and Forestry Catalogue here.
by Bethany Vann | 07 Aug 23 | Nature & Biodiversity, News, Topics
Thousands of trees are set to be planted in honour of His Majesty King Charles III’s coronation with a new government fund.
The £2.5m fund will enable local authorities to create new green spaces across the country and increase nature connectivity opportunities for local communities.
The cross-country initiative will also contribute to the government’s target to treble tree planting rates and ensure 16.5% of land area is under tree cover by 2050.
Viable project initiatives include the creation of community orchards and tree nurseries, new ‘Miyawaki’ miniature woodlands in urban areas, and tree planting on farms.
Chair of the Forestry Commission, Sir William Worsley says: “This will enable communities to grow new and diverse trees to enrich the environment in which people, wildlife, and nature coexist for generations to come.”
The fund follows the launch of the ‘King’s series of National Nature Reserves’, and Forestry England’s creation of the first official Coronation Woodlands in April this year.
Funding is available to upper tier local authorities and district and city councils across England, for grants between £10,000 – £50,000.
Applications opened 5 August and runs through to 11 September.
by Bethany Vann | 05 Jul 23 | Nature & Biodiversity, News, Topics
In a study commissioned by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), citizen science groups and members of the public, engaged through local urban forest volunteer schemes will inspect and document urban forest characteristics.
International organisation Treeconomics has been appointed by WMCA, in partnership with Birmingham Treepeople, Barton Hyett Associates and Forest Research, to manage the study starting early July.
It will include the assessment of over 1000 sample plots spanning Birmingham, Solihull and Coventry on public and private land, delivering a systematic data pool of the WMCA’s urban forest, which covers a significant geographical area.
The data collected will be used to enhance and inform tree management decisions and ambitions set out in the West Midlands Natural Environment Plan to increase canopy cover in support of region-wide efforts to tackle the climate and ecological emergencies.
It will be processed via the software application, i-Tree Eco an assessment tool which quantifies the structural and environmental effects of urban trees and calculates their value to society.
Jeff Grant, West Midlands forest partnership co-ordinator for the WMCA, says: “Encouraging tree planting is one of the flagship elements of the West Midlands Natural Environment Plan.
“It is an essential element of our ambitious target of increasing canopy cover and will also help us to protect and care for mature trees so we can retain their biodiversity value, and to enhance the landscape and air quality.
“We’re already making good progress with over 320,000 new trees planted since 2020. Knowing what already exists and being able to communicate the benefits and future needs to people who live and work in the West Midlands will allow us to take a longer-term and more strategic approach to planting to help tackle the climate and ecological emergencies.”
The findings will be curated into a report, due to be completed in December 2023, complementing the i-Tree 2022 Black Country survey and will enable local initiatives like tree planting programmes to be coordinated and prioritised according to local requirements, taking into account environmental and social factors, such as air pollution and public welfare.
It will underpin the decisions made by urban forest managers to improve their trees’ resilience and diversity, while addressing potential threats from a changing climate and risks associated with pests and diseases.
The data and subsequent report will help ensure that long-term strategic management is an integral part of urban forest management and will enable benchmarking with similar urban forest initiatives across the world to take place.
