Trees for Water project to see 20,000 trees planted across Somerset

The Trees for Water project plants trees in specifically targeted areas across the county to reduce surface water run-off near strategically important roads and major housing developments.

The Somerset River Authority (SRA) voted on Friday morning (June 16) to grant a further £60,000 to the project, with a number of priority sites being identified for the next 12 months.

This comes after Somerset Council ratified its tree strategy, which commits to drastically increasing Somerset’s tree cover over the next decade.

Trees for Water has been successfully operated by charity Re-imagining the Levels by 2020, under the watchful eyes of Farming & Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG) South West.

Since 2020, around 35,000 trees being planted across 98 sites (mostly in the former Mendip and South Somerset areas), at a cost of just over £198,000.

Sarah Dyke, the Liberal Democrats' candidate for Somerton and Frome (Image: Somerton And Frome Liberal Democrats)

In the 2022/23 planting season alone, 35 schemes were funded by the SRA, creating 20 new acres of woodland and 1.8km of new hedgerows.

A wide range of sites have been planted within the Levels and Moors catchment area, including numerous locations around some of Somerset’s largest urban settlements.

These include the villages around Somerton and Langport, land near Chard Reservoir, several sites south of Cheddar, land north of the Mudford urban extension in Yeovil, and several locations near Wellington and Rockwell Green.

The Trees for Water project is designed to complement the larger-scale planting funded by the Forestry Commission and to offset the loss of mature trees through ash die-back and other virulent diseases.

Amanda Gallacher, from FWAG SouthWest, told the SRA board when it met in Bridgwater on Friday (June 16): “Small woodlands play a role in retaining and increasing carbon storage in the soil as a result of leaf fall, keeping soils damp and avoiding cultivation.

“There is considerable interest from local communities and landowners/ land managers, in particular to plant trees to reduce flooding.”

The additional £60,000 will be used to provide up to 20,000 new trees (enough to cover 18 hectares, or 44 acres) or 30,000 hedge plants (enough for five kilometres, or just over three miles, of new hedgerow).

Of this money, £25,000 will be used to employee a tree officer to oversee the project, £20,000 will be used to purchased plants from the Woodland Trust, and £10,000 will serve as a payment in kind from the volunteers.

Councillor Sarah Dyke, Somerset Council’s portfolio holder for the environment and climate change, said she wanted to ensure that trees that were recently planted were properly maintained.

She said: “This is a very well-thought-through project. It fits in nicely with our newly adopted tree strategy, and I’m happy to see it carry on.

“I’m walking around the Mendip Hills at the moment and I’m seeing hundreds of badly planted trees which need water and are not being looked after.”

Tony Bradford, who sits on the Parrett Internal Drainage Board, was more sceptical about how effective the project would be.

He said: “£60,000 is a lot of money. Personally I don’t think it makes a bit of difference – I want evidence that it’s doing some good.

“What I’d like to see if some funding can be made available to tackle diseases in trees. We’ve had Dutch elm disease, ash die-back, now hazels and willows are dying.”

The grant was approved after a short debate – though all four representatives from Somerset’s internal drainage boards abstained from the final vote.

This decision follows the approval of the Somerset tree strategy, which was ratified by the council’s executive committee on June 6.

The ten-year plan commits to 240 hectares (593 acres) of new trees to be planted every year up to 2033

The Somerset Tree Strategy includes an aim to see 240 hectares of new trees planted every year for the next decade.

If these targets are met, it would increase the percentage of Somerset covered by trees from its current level of eight per cent to the national average of 13 per cent.

As part of this strategy, a dead maple tree in Vivary Park in Taunton – which is being felled on safety grounds – will be replaced by three new trees later in the year.

The strategy intends to work with the Woodland Trust, Exmoor National Park and other organisations to support existing tree-planting groups and encourage new ones to be created.

Ms Dyke said: “We have a rich history of trees in our landscapes, but our woodland cover is below the national average.

“This is a strategy that covers ecology, climate, and communities to enhance and protect its trees for the future and I would urge everyone to read it – there is no better way to help and be a part of your community than to make that difference by planting trees.

“It is a strategy that needs to belong to everyone: the council has a role to play, but we can all play a part.

“It’s not just about more trees, it’s about the right trees in the right places, and I believe we can make a real impact.”