Major tree project to take place at former Rufford Colliery site

A major project to plant 18,000 trees on green space at the former Rufford Colliery site has got under way with the planting of an initial two trees.

Contractors were expected to finish the job, planting 3,000 trees a day on the land, which sits within Greenwood Community Forest, before Christmas.

This specific project is part of Nottinghamshire County Council’s wider ambition to plant 250,000 trees across the county over the next five years and contribute to Trees For Climate — an England-wide programme of woodland planting led by community forests.

The first tree was planted by Mike Adams, the council’s Environment Ambassador, whose role it is to drive forward the council’s green policy.

Mr Adams said: “I was delighted to pick up a spade and plant the first tree — an oak tree — and kick off this major climate change combatting scheme.

“When we consulted on our council plan, the public told us that the environment is really important to them and that’s why we’ve pledged to plant 250,000 new trees across Nottinghamshire in the next five years.

“We are grateful to the excellent Trees For Climate programme for helping us get all these new trees planted into the ground.

“All these thousands of extra trees are going to bring so many benefits to our communities, including creating new habitats for wildlife, improving air quality, and giving residents an improved experience.”

The second tree of the new woodland was planted by councillor Tom Smith, Greenwood Champion and vice-chairman of the county council’s communities committee.

He Smith said: “Planting new, native woodland is a hugely important step in tackling the environmental challenges we face, and I know Rainworth and the surrounding area will benefit hugely from this green scheme.

“I think the Rufford Colliery site is the perfect place for this new woodland.

“I’m particularly proud to have been able to plant the second tree of this new woodland, and I very much look forward to seeing the forest grow.”

John Cottee, chairman of the communities committee, said: “It is the county council’s role to improve our communities as best we can and projects like this are really important to getting the job done.

“Delivering a greener Notting-hamshire is a key plank of our new council plan, so our tree planting ambitions over the next five years are now doubly important.”