Stump Up For Trees plants 250,000th tree in the Bannau Brycheiniog

Stump Up For Trees, the innovative woodland creation and landscape restoration charity, planted their 250,000^th tree on an upland farm in the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park last week with a team of volunteers.

With this landmark, the charity is one quarter of the way to achieving its target of planting one million native broadleaf trees in south-east Wales to enhance biodiversity, sequester carbon, provide natural flood management and improve air, soil and water quality.

“In our DNA”

Dr Keith Powell, sixth generation Black Mountains farmer, vet and co-founder of the charity said, “Working with the farming community is in our DNA.

“Our key goal is to encourage farmers to increase tree cover on their farms in ways that deliver ecosystem services and critically, support and even improve agricultural production.

“To mitigate the climate and biodiversity crisis at the sort of rate now required, we have to bring farmers with us.” 

Stump Up For Trees gives grants and advice to landowners to plant hedgerows, shelterbelts, riparian woodland, new native woodlands and upland wood pasture, using a consensus approach to planting, planning and long-term management.

Working with a community of volunteers aged 8 – 83 years old, the charity has planted trees at over 70 sites across the region, as well as growing on over 150,000 trees in their own community tree nursery.  

Milestone

Dr Jenny Knight, General Manager of Stump Up For Trees added: “The climate and biodiversity crises can feel overwhelming to us as individuals. This milestone shows that small individual actions undertaken by our volunteers at a local level can make the difference.

“We have planted a quarter of a million trees, but we feel connected to a global movement that has planted hundreds of millions in recent years, and that is empowering.” 

Rob Penn, author and co-founder of Stump Up For Trees, said: “Stump Up For Trees began as a conversation in our local pub. We have come a long way,”  “It feels good to have planted our 250,000^th tree in just four years, but we’re certainly not stopping here.”