Help community woodlands grow

Volunteers are needed to grab a spade and help plant 5,500 trees in community woodlands.

A tree-planting day is being held on Sunday, December 13th at Pioneer Wood and Beech Wood, which lie next to each other off Fenside Road in Boston.

Boston Woods Trust planted Beech Wood in 2001. Now, the trust is extending the community woodland at the site by five acres to the north and five acres to the south.

Lincolnshire Co-op donated £50,000 to the Trust to enable it to buy the south side site, which is called Pioneer Wood.

The tree planting day takes place from 9am until 2pm and Lincolnshire Co-op’s Community Engagement Manager Sam Turner said she hoped to see lots of people there.

“We’d love to see our members come and plant some trees in Pioneer Wood and Beech Wood, helping to extend this lovely space which is providing a haven for wildlife,” she said.

“Volunteers just need to wrap up warm, pull their wellies on, and bring along a spade if they’ve got one. It should be a fun day – and a rewarding one too.”

Lincolnshire Co-op owns another wood – the Co-op Wood in Dunholme, near Lincoln, which is run by the Nettleham Woods Trust.

“We helped buy our Co-op Wood in Dunholme as part of our 150th birthday celebrations in 2011. We wanted something that would be a long-lasting legacy for our members,” said Sam. “We first started talking to Boston Woods Trust about Pioneer Wood then and we’re really glad we’re now able to make those plans a reality.

“As a co-operative, we’re all about giving back to our members. Our involvement in these community woodlands is part of our commitment to the environment.”