Press Release
SCOUTS PLANT NEW WOODLAND IN CELEBRATION OF SCOUTING CENTENARY
24 October 2007
Celebrating 100 years of scouting on 24 October, scouts from both sides of the Humber will be planting a new woodland on The Crown Estate’s Derwent estate at Sutton on Derwent.
The initiative will mark the scouting centenaryand forms part of a nationwide ‘Scouts For Trees’ initiative by the Scout Association and the Woodland Trust.
The Crown Estate will host the Bransburton Scouts and the 16th Scunthorpe Beaver Scouts who will plant hundreds of trees on the Derwent estate. They will be joined on the day by local school children who will, along with future generations, enjoy watching the new woodland grow from their village primary school, adjacent to the site.
The woodland will be a traditional British wood and will be planted with tree species native to the UK, including rowan, ash and oak trees. Oak trees being particularly appropriate since the first reference to the Sutton and Derwent area was by the Celts in the 8th century as, “an area by a river where oak trees grow abundantly.”
The Crown Estate has given two and a quarter acres of former arable land for the scheme and the saplings for planting have kindly been provided by The Veolia Environmental Trust, which is in now in its tenth year of supporting community projects.
Alan Laidlaw, The Crown Estate said: “The Crown Estate is committed to good stewardship of its land and to working with local communities. We are delighted to be involved with ‘Scouts For Trees’, a great initiative that provides young people with the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors and help protect the environment and improve their local area at the same time.”
Chris Foster of the Scouts Association commented: “We are really looking forward to planting the trees at Derwent to help mark the movement’s centenary and help make a real difference to our local environment. ‘Scouts For Trees’ is vital in enabling scouts in this country to have the chance to enjoy the great outdoors. This was a crucial part of scouting 100 years ago and it will continue to be so as it remains second nature to our members.”
Jo Mugford, Chief Executive of the Woodland Trust said: "‘Tree For All’ is a call to action in a time when the protection and planting of new woodland is becoming increasingly important as our natural world comes under siege. ‘Scouts For Trees’ is a great opportunity to get involved with a UK wide organisation to help us reach out to more and more young people. With the help of the Scout Association we aim to plant at least 100 Centenary Groves – these will be new areas of native woodland, each made up of thousands of trees.”
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