AS National Tree Week begins on Saturday November 26, The Saving Devon’s Treescapes project is giving away free trees to mark the beginning of the week.

The project are running four tree giveaways at various locations in Devon with the biggest of the events taking place at Devon Wildlife Trust’s Meeth Quarry nature reserve, near Hatherleigh. Entry is free and open to all. As well as being able to pick up a sapling to plant at home, visitors will also be able to join a guided walk where they’ll learn how to identify common trees and talk to a woodland creation adviser from the Woodland Trust about what support is available if they want to plant more trees. Staff and volunteers will also lead tours of the Meeth Quarry tree nursery which is helping Saving Devon’s Treescapes achieve its mission of planting half a million trees in Devon by 2025.

The tree giveaway will begin at 10am running until all trees are given out.

The project aims to restore trees lost to ash dieback disease.

Devon Wildlife Trust’s Rosie Cotgreave is the project lead for Saving Devon’s Treescapes. Rosie says:

“These are our first tree hub events of what will be a busy winter. Our mission is to replace trees lost across Devon to the terrible scourge of ash dieback disease.

Ash dieback is having a devastating impact on our landscape which is why it’s vital that people are able to plant the right trees in the right place to ensure we have healthy and resilient treescapes in future years.

At each event our staff and volunteers will be giving away sapling trees of Devon species such as oak, hazel, rowan and crab apple, with a maximum of five trees per family group or individual. Every tree will come with an easy to follow guide to its planting, protection and aftercare. Our stock of trees will be limited to 350 trees at each event, so I’d urge people to get to the venues early.”

The Woodland Trust has generously donated trees for the tree hub events. The charity’s partnership manager, Eleanor Lewis says:

“The Woodland Trust is really pleased to be working in partnership with Devon Wildlife Trust, together we can have a bigger impact. We need more trees across our landscape. This means replacing not only the trees lost to ash dieback but also the woods and trees lost over the past centuries. These new trees will start to reconnect the county’s fragmented woodland and provide important habitats for our wildlife, as well as acting to combat climate change. If you have space for a tree, please come along and get involved.”

For more information visit: www.devonwildlifetrust.org/events