After five successful years the Trees Outside Woodlands programme is coming to an end this autumn, after achieving tremendous results.
The Trees Outside Woodlands (TOW) programme looked at efficient and cost-effective ways of planting trees in non-woodland areas.
Trees Outside Woodlands project officer Nick Rowles
The programme was funded by the HM Government through the Shared Outcomes Fund and delivered in partnership by The Tree Council, Natural England, The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) with five local authorities, including Shropshire Council.
The agroforestry and orchards pilot component of the programme, on which Shropshire Council led, was testing how best to encourage the uptake of tree planting schemes on farmland to improve biodiversity, soil health, productivity and animal welfare.
In just five years and on 70 different sites, more than 25,000 trees have been planted in a diverse range of agroforestry systems, including alley cropping, shelterbelts, parkland, orchards and many more.
Each system brings its own benefits to the farm system, including nutritious browse for livestock, shade and shelter, and additional crops such as fruit and nuts and income generation possibilities.
Cllr David Walker, portfolio holder for historic and natural environment, said:
“Shropshire Council is delighted to have taken part in the highly successful Trees Outside Woods Project.
Over the past three planting seasons, it has supported over 70 projects with farmers, landowners and public groups across Shropshire to create four community tree nurseries, plant over 25,000 trees as part of agro-forestry systems or orchards, and supply over 32,000 trees for people to plant as part of the council’s community tree scheme.’
Trees on Farms (agroforestry)
Agroforestry is in simple terms ‘farming with trees’ and could provide a vital tool to help plant more trees and produce enough food for the nation at the same time.
For more information, please see The Tree Council TOW hub:
Establishing trees outside woodlands
Subsidised tree scheme
As part of the TOW programme, Shropshire Council also delivered a tree scheme, where thousands of trees were distributed to residents and landowners to be planted both in towns and in the countryside.
The TOW programme also offered half-price trees to residents in some years, boosting the number of trees that could be planted and helping towards a target of planting 345,000 trees in the county by 2030.
People who applied to the scheme were able to choose from native tree species, and residents were given a choice of species depending on their own site conditions, including bundles for low ground, high ground, wet ground and trees for hedgerows.
Community Tree Nurseries
We were also part of the Community Tree Nursery (CTN) pilot through the programme. Largely run by volunteers, CTNs bring people together to grow, plant, and care for trees, whilst also nurturing stronger relationships with nature and building community spirit.
The UK’s Community Tree Nurseries (CTNs) are producing around 250,000 mostly native trees each year and could be scaled up with additional funding and support. Many of the nurseries collect seeds from within 20 miles of the site which helps to supply more local provenance trees for planting locally.
Janet Cobb, a parish councillor and owner of Oak Ridge nursery near Horderley, said:
“With the grant support and advice, it’s been so easy to set up a small tree nursery, everyone should do it”.
Key Statistics:
Trees on Farms
Overall (all counties) – 80,305 trees planted across five counties
Shropshire – 25,495 trees planted in 70 different agroforestry and orchard schemes
Tree schemes
Shropshire – 32,140 trees funded by TOW and distributed to local residents
51,266 trees funded by Shropshire Council and Carbon Footprint Ltd
83,406 trees planted in total
Community Tree Nurseries
Shropshire – Four new community tree nurseries established in the county
Feedback
Overall, the TOW programme has been very well received, with Trees on Farms applicants particularly pleased that the scheme allowed them to plant their desired system. This is important as the farmers are more likely to keep the trees if the system really works for them. Most landowners spoken to also said that they would recommend this scheme to others.
Oliver Kynaston, farmer, Weston Rhyn said about the Trees on Farms scheme:
“I think the thing about agroforestry is you are not trading off between growing food and having trees. You are hopefully able to integrate both of them to improve food production”.
Nick Rowles, the TOW project officer said:
“This has been a fantastic project to work on. One of the biggest surprises for me was how many landowners and farmers wanted to plant trees on their land.
I have really enjoyed working closely with farmers to design and plant up agroforestry systems to help boost their farm productivity and help with a whole range of issues, from lack of shade and shelter, animal welfare, soil erosion to pest and disease prevention”.
