Dorset’s woodlands are under threat and the future of our ancient trees is in doubt. Essential for both wildlife and people, this rich resource, which provides food and shelter for countless species and so much pleasure to many of us, needs urgent protection. You can help Dorset Wildlife Trust achieve this by supporting this appeal even with the smallest donation.
We need to raise £105,000 by the end of the year to enable us to undertake vital conservation work to protect Dorset's great trees and to manage and restore 30 woodland sites.
Dorset's great trees
The UK has the largest number of surviving ancient trees in Northern Europe and Dorset still benefits from hundreds of these great trees that give our countryside its unique character. As custodians of a landscape of international importance we have a special responsibility to protect and maintain them.
However, many of Dorset’s great trees are unprotected and are suffering from a host of threats including disease, pollution, poor management and premature felling. Each year we are loosing ancient trees that could have survived for years to come.
Greenwood Tree project
Little had previously been done to promote and conserve the county’s tree heritage. During two years of funding the Greenwood Tree Project and has helped ensure Dorset’s great trees are at last being recognised as living icons of national importance and has saved at least one from being felled.
Dorset Wildlife Trust has recognised expertise in the field of tree conservation. During the next 12 months we need to allocate £35,000 to enable us to:
• Continue to encourage best practise in the management of ancient trees by providing advice to landowners and carrying out surveys.
• Provide some financial support towards veteran tree management.
• Set up a monitoring scheme for Dorset’s great trees helping us to safeguard their future and gain a greater insight into how trees age.
• Continue to coordinate parish volunteers in undertaking ancient tree surveys.
• Continue to act as a focal point for gathering data on old trees.
• Provide tree-related educational workshops.
Dorset's threatened woodlands
Ancient woodland is our richest wildlife habitat. However, since 1945 some 60% has been lost and the remaining areas are small and fragmented. Urgent action to protect them must be taken now or what remains of our ancient woodlands will lose their wildlife value forever
Restoring woodlands
We have identified 30 important Dorset woodland sites that would benefit from our proposed £70,000 two-year project to extend, enhance and restore them. The sites are fragmented, so the work will include creating a network of well managed woodlands on both our own reserves and privately owned land.
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