Staveley residents plant native tree saplings in Craggy Wood

Wet weather on Monday did not dampen the enthusiasm of a group of hardy volunteers in Staveley, who spent the morning planting around 300 tree saplings.

The trees were planted on land that will extend and link up 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 residents 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.

Danni Chalmers, Staveley Woodlands officer for Cumbria Wildlife Trust, said: “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.”

The planting follows several years of campaigning by the community.

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.

£120,000 was raised to purchase the wood, via donations from the public and from the Banister Charitable Trust.

Dave Plumb, member of the Craggy Wood Steering Group 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.”

Anne Salisbury, Staveley Parish councillor and Chair of Craggy Wood Steering Group, said: “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 Staveley residents and other supporters of the Save Craggy Wood campaign have recently been nominated as one of Cumbria Wildlife Trust’s #60ForNature nature heroes, part of the charity’s 60th Anniversary celebrations.