TWENTY-ONE new woodlands have been created in the Yorkshire Dales over the last six months.

It has involved planting 450 trees a day - 82,000 in total - as part of the Dales Woodland Restoration Programme .

It is funded by a partnership including Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust, Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority and the Forestry Commission who together aim to double broadleaf woodland cover in the Yorkshire Dales by 2020.

It is intended to bring significant benefits for local wildlife, people, environment and landscape, thanks to a long running grant programme.

Great strides have been made in Bishopdale in recent years, thanks to the enthusiasm and commitment of one landowner, Robert Brown.

He said: “Since 2010, I have dedicated 65 hectares of land to the creation of new native broadleaf woodland, including two new areas of woodland planted this winter.

"In the last century we lost a large proportion of the woodland in this dale and with the help of this scheme I’m delighted that we’ve been able to restore some of the land back to native tree cover to support biodiversity and enhance the landscape for future generations.”

The YDNPA’s senior trees and woodland officer, Geoff Garrett, said: "The national park and the Forestry Commission are separate public bodies but with many shared interests. "Along with the charity YDMT, we’ve pooled our expertise to offer grants and advice to landowners.

"In the even years of the partnership so far, we’ve spent £6 million supporting new woodlands in the national park."

Carol Douglas, Woodland Officer at YDMT, said: “As the Yorkshire Dales has less woodland than any other national park in the UK, it has been fantastic to approve grants for 21 new woodlands this winter, which together will cover 58 hectares."

The woodlands and others had been made possible thanks to support from The Fuelcard Company and their Ecopoint customers who raised £338,565 for YDMT last year, enabling the charity to extend the woodland creation programme to areas outside the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

Landowners interested in receiving free advice and funding to support the creation and management of new native broadleaf woodlands in and around the Yorkshire Dales should contact Carol Douglas at YDMT on 015242 51002 or email carol.douglas@ydmt.org.

2. Longridge Wood in Bishopdale. L-R: Robert Brown, Jeremy Dick from the Forestry Commission, Chris Lodge from YDMT.