Wet weather on Monday didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of a group of hardy volunteers in Staveley, who spent the morning planting around 300 native tree saplings. The trees were planted on land that will extend and link up the much-loved Craggy Wood to neighbouring Dorothy Farrer’s Spring Wood. This newly-created area of woodland will create a wildlife corridor between the two woods, which are managed by Cumbria Wildlife Trust.

The saplings were grown from seed by local people in their back gardens and yards, and tended by volunteers in a specially-created tree nursery in Staveley allotments, in space which was gifted by the Parish Council. Among the native species they planted are oak, hazel, rowan, dog rose, blackthorn, hawthorn, bird cherry, wild cherry and alder. After planting the 300 saplings, the volunteers, who included those who have sponsored a tree in the woodlands, put down surplus fleece around the base of the saplings. This will protect them, by supressing weeds and adding nutrients to the soil.

Danni Chalmers, Staveley Woodlands Officer for Cumbria Wildlife Trust, said: “We’ve had a fantastic day of planting today, putting in around 300 trees. Thank you so much to everyone who got stuck in, despite the rain, to create this wonderful new area of woodland! It’s very rewarding to know that from these saplings, trees will be growing for years to come, becoming part of the wonderful Lake District landscape. Creating a wildlife corridor like this is a vital: linking these special woodland habitats will really benefit the wonderful array of birds, animals, plants and insects that these ancient woods support.”

This special day for Staveley follows several years of campaigning and commitment to the woodlands by the local community. Back, in 2017, a group of residents and their friends got together to save Craggy Wood from being sold into private ownership after the Lake District National Park authority put it up for sale. Following a very successful campaign, an amazing £120,000 was raised to purchase the wood, via donations from the public and from the Banister Charitable Trust. Cumbria Wildlife Trust took ownership of the wood then, and are managing it for the benefit of wildlife.

Some of those who have been involved with the campaign from the very start took part in Monday’s planting day, including Dave Plumb, member of the Craggy Wood Steering Group. Dave said: “My children, then my grandchildren have loved playing in these woods - families here have loved it for generations. When the National Park proposed to put Craggy for sale on the open market, it seemed to me vital that such a beautiful place should stay in public hands and be open and accessible to all. This was achieved a while ago through the transfer of ownership to Cumbria Wildlife Trust as long-term guardians of this magic place. It was great to be out in the rain today with other volunteers, planting the beginnings of the new woodland corridor - it will benefit wildlife, biodiversity, and the future enjoyment of everyone.”

Anne Salisbury,  Staveley Parish Councillor and Chair of Craggy Wood Steering Group, said: "Craggy Wood has been open to the public for many years now, and whilst the public rights of way through it would have stayed once the National Park sold it, we, the community didn’t want it to go into private hands. I and many others were keen to keep it in public ownership so we set up a partnership with Cumbria Wildlife Trust. The charity gave us much help to seek funding, most of which came from individual donations from the community, as well as a much wider interest from those who know the woodland and were keen to help. So to have it in public ownership with current and future rights of way through it, for all to enjoy, is a fantastic result!”

Anne continued: “Today’s tree planting, the first on the Craggy Wood extension field, is the first step in making a superb corridor of woodland linking Craggy Wood to the other Staveley Woodlands, attracting more wildlife, helping the wildlife to move along that corridor and allowing people to walk through the superb extended woodland areas.”

The idea of planting trees to link the two areas of woodland has taken a few years to become a reality, as Danni Chalmers explained: “The tree planting idea started in 2018 when Cumbria Wildlife Trust gifted some oak trees to the Staveley community. From there, the idea took off of one day planting these trees on the land between the two woods, to create a new woodland area. In 2019 we held several events, teaching people how to safely collect seeds and grow them on for the project. That way we knew all the trees we planted would have local provenance and we would avoid potentially bringing disease or invasive species into the area.”

Danni continued: “The community took on the project with enthusiasm and has shown fantastic commitment since then, tending the little saplings, grown from locally-sourced nuts, berries and seeds, in their back yards and gardens, as well as nurturing hundreds more saplings in our special tree nursery.”

“Volunteers kept the nursery going valiantly throughout the lockdowns, providing a lot of watering and weeding to keep the saplings alive. They used surplus sheep fleece from Cumbrian farms as weed suppressant around the base of the newly planted trees, to give them the best start. The fleece also helped prevent the saplings drying out during a few dry spells last summer. It’s been a real labour of love and it’s wonderful, two and a half years later, to see this growing project coming to fruition. We’re incredibly grateful to all our backyard tree growers, to the nursery volunteers for all their time and hard work, and to the many people who have generously sponsored a tree for Staveley.”

The Staveley residents and other supporters of the Save Craggy Wood campaign have recently been nominated as #60ForNature nature heroes, part of our 60^th Anniversary celebrations.