Another local, Family Business, Make it Wild have been working with us and other nurseries to help plant the trees of the future, having pledged to plant 100,000 trees this decade, to form part of the ‘Northern Forest’.
The North of England has significantly fewer trees than other parts of the country, with just 7.6% of the region covered in woodland. The Woodland Trust is working with several partners including Make it Wild to plant over 50 million trees across northern sites and cities including Liverpool, Leeds, Manchester, Hull and Sheffield which will help to form the ‘Northern Forest’.
The eco-friendly family that run Make it Wild set about their mission nearly ten years ago when they purchased 25 acres of land on the banks of the River Nidd. The land, which is adjacent to the village of Kirk Hammerton, located on the outskirts of York, is now known as Sylvan Nature Reserve. The project showed them how good land management could create a haven for wildlife and humans with 18,000 British, deciduous trees planted along with 8 acres of wild-flower meadow.
Following on from their successes at Sylvan Nature Reserve, the Neave family purchased a further 111 acres just outside Summerbridge near Harrogate, that has formed ‘Bank Woods’, a far larger habitat project incorporating ancient woodland.
Make it Wild encourage people to take responsibility for their carbon footprint. They offer individuals and businesses the possibility of offsetting their own carbon footprint through planting trees. This proved very popular as a Christmas gift, and also with businesses wanting to improve their ‘green’ credentials.
Make it Wild have pledged to plant 100,000 trees this decade, with this in mind they rely on suppliers who can accommodate these numbers.
Since the beginning, Make it Wild have planted a whopping 36,000 trees across their land with Yorkshire suppliers including Johnsons. Their mission is to support biodiversity and carbon sequestration.
Tree varieties supplied and planted over the last nine years include Betula pendula, Prunus avium, Prunus padus, Sorbus Aucuparia, Acer campestre, Malus Sylvestris, Corylus avellana, Crataegus monogyna, Prunus spinosa, Viburnum opulus, Rosa canina and Ilex aquifolium.
The ‘result’ ist still ongoing as Make it Wild continue to tackle climate change, reduce the risk of flooding, clean the air and improve health and well-being through their pledged planting scheme at both nature reserves.
Founder of Make it Wild, Christopher Neave said: “Johnsons have been wonderful partners in our mission to help nature. It has been great having such a helpful business so close to us. They have always been able to assist us with good advice and high-quality trees.
