Trees for Doncaster
Highland Carbon is helping businesses in Yorkshire to achieve a local impact. There are two opportunities open to businesses. Firstly, we are offering the opportunity for companies to support one tree to be planted in Loversall, Doncaster for every twenty tonnes of carbon offsetting that they purchase from our Woodland Carbon Code projects located in the wilds of Scotland, or via our international offsetting projects. In this instance, we provide a certificate to evidence the Carbon Neutral outputs.
In addition or as an alternative, businesses are welcome to simply 'sponsor a tree' with a minimum purchase of five trees. This option is perhaps preferred by small businesses that do not account for their carbon footprint. In this case, the trees will not be paired with formal offsetting.
In the first instance, we will be planting rows of white poplars that are each 3-6 meters tall along avenues and field edges. The trees have been grown on a farm in Loversall, Doncaster. They will be transplanted into coppice clusters and to form farm lane avenues.
Each tree will be planted with care. We will auger a hole for ease of planting and for the roots to establish more freely. Each tree will be planted within minutes of being transplanted from the nursery area. Each will be staked and watered. The twenty test trees that were planted last year are thriving, so we know that the soil and hydrology are appropriate for the trees.
Our subsequent plans are to plant copses of mixed native species around the estate upon set-back zones and lane corners. The local farmer is also planting diverse native hedgerows.
The area where the planting will take place is on farm land adjacent to a Yorkshire Wildlife Trust leased pond that itself is immediately south of the Doncaster i-Port rail hub (pictured above). Some of the trees will be planted facing the i-Port. Others will be planted alongside the M-18. Still others will be planted in avenues and clusters along the lanes of the farm and adjacent public cycle paths. The trees will help to cleanse the air and will lock of atmospheric CO2 in their biomass.
The planting scheme will complement the Doncaster Green Gateway, as described by the Doncaster City Council. They will count toward the Council's target of planting 1 million trees.
These trees will offer a habitat corridor enabling birds crossing from Doncaster Racecourse, Yorkshire Wildlife Park, Potteric Carr, Doncaster Lakeside and the YWT park to traverse the planting site and onwards to Woodfield Park and Edlington Wood.
The charge per tree will be just £30 plus VAT. For that price, others would offer a 20-50 cm tree, whereas we are supplying 3-6 meter trees when planted! If these trees were purchased from a tree nursery, they would be worth circa £150-250 each. So this is an affordable way to achieve a meaningful, timely impact. How are we able to achieve this in such a cost-effective way? The circa 1,000 saplings have self-seeded. They will need to be relocated or they would crowd each other out and die. So we are giving each tree a real opportunity to thrive in locations where they will have plenty of sunshine and room for their branches to spread.
White poplar leaves are green on top and silver underneath. The leaves dance and the trees appear to sparkle when a breeze flows across them. The trunks and branches are an attractive silver-white colour. They will enhance the aesthetics of the area.