New woodland boosts army training and flood defences
15 Apr 2014 03:49 PM
120 hectares of new woodland at a Yorkshire
training area will improve soldiers' experience while reducing flood risk
for local residents.
The
Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) worked with the Forestry
Commission and the Woodland
Trust to deliver the woodland at Catterick Training Area, which will
provide further area for our armed forces to develop skills in using wooded
areas as cover in battle.
The
woodland also meets best practice guidelines set out by the Forestry Commission
and Defra, and is part
of Woodlands for Water
(WfW), an initiative to enhance England’s water
environment.
Jeremy Kalkowski, DIO’s head forester for the
north eastern UK, said:
DIO supports our armed forces by providing what
they need to live, work and train. Our cross-organisational working approach
means that not only are we providing an improved facility for military
training, but there are huge benefits to the people and communities around
Catterick, as well as for the biodiversity and environment of the
area.
WfW was established by the Forestry Commission and
the Environment
Agency to improve the quality of rivers and help against the causes of
downstream flooding in England.
Planting on steep hillsides at Catterick reduces ground
water flowing into the River Swale. In the last few years, large areas within
the north east of England have been subject to flooding. It is hoped that the
new woodland will help reduce the effects of flooding in the
area.
Tenant farmers on Ministry of Defence (MOD) land at
Catterick were able to apply for the Forestry Commission’s grant scheme,
which covered their costs for planting 80 hectares of trees.
Jeremy Dick, the local woodland officer for the Forestry
Commission, said:
The
commission established the Woodlands for Water initiative with the Environment
Agency in 2010. It’s great to see this project come to fruition where the
scale and location of planting means reducing the flood risk.
120
hectares is a really good contribution towards our national woodland creation
target.
The
remaining 40 hectares are also being funded by WfW and the Woodland
Trust. This means that no costs were incurred on the defence budget for the
training ground.
Woodland Trust partnership manager Helen Chesshire
said:
We
are delighted to continue our partnership with DIO and create new
native woodland across the MOD estate for both the benefit of the
environment and the armed forces.
In
addition to the planting at Catterick our partnership has created over 380
hectares of new native woodland at 6 other MOD sites, with a further
100 hectares to be planted in the autumn at 3 more sites.
The
120 hectare planting at Catterick is part of a wider woodland creation drive on
the MOD’s training estate. Wherever possible, DIO seeks to
use public funds to develop projects that meet the needs of multiple
organisations, departments and local communities.