Stoneraise and Ireby primary pupils help plant new woodland

The private land on which the woodland was planted will be open for use by the local community and schools for upcoming wildlife and environmental projects.

The Ellen Bridge project, which is backed by the Edwin Thompson Forestry Department, has been funded by the Cumbria Community Forest through its RAISE: Cumbria Community Forest project.

The Ellen Bridge Project will create a new woodland (Image: Edwin Thompson)

The project's scope includes the creation of new woodland, tree planting primarily in West Cumbria, and engaging local communities in the process.

Contributions from the recently formed People Plant Trees group, which aims to bridge the gap between people and local tree planting initiatives, was also pivotal to the project.

The group supplied the necessary tools and collaborated with forestry manager David Atkinson of Edwin Thompson to demonstrate correct tree planting methods.

A newly planted tree (Image: Edwin Thompson)

In addition to creating new woodland, the Ellen Bridge project will also result in the creation of a pond and the planting of 800 native trees and shrubs along the riverbanks of river Ellen, known to host otter populations.

Mr Atkinson said: "These small woodland projects are really fun to get involved with and give a chance to paint with trees, creating a lasting legacy for your family.

"The good news right now is that there are a range of generous funding sources available for all scales of projects.”

The children got stuck in with helping to plant the trees (Image: Edwin Thompson)

Landowner, Stas Kubasiewicz, said: "It’s been great to involve the schools in practical tree planting skills.

"The planting day has been a great success!"

RAISE is looking for other landowners to plant more trees for next year.