Nursery grows support for preserving oaks

Work is continuing to protect and support the future of a wise old tree in Denbighshire.

Over 15,000 acorns have been collected and planted this season at Denbighshire County Council’s local provenance tree nursery at St Asaph.

The project, funded by Welsh Government through the Local Places for Nature grant, aims to provide native trees and wildflowers to support the county’s biodiversity.

Denbighshire County Council’s Biodiversity team, with the support of local volunteers have collected and sown 16,760 acorns.

This is in addition to 11,500 trees currently growing on site which include which include pedunculate oak, sessile oak, sweet chestnut, silver birch, alder, wych elm and goat willow.

Oaks do have an important impact on biodiversity by giving support to more life forms than any other native trees. Hundreds of insects can be hosted by the tree providing birds a rich source of food. Across autumn, squirrels, badgers and deer will also feed on acorns.

Bringing more oaks back onto the county’s landscape together with other trees will help capture and absorb carbon emissions reducing local carbon footprints where woodlands are reintroduced.

The nursery also produced 13,000 wildflowers, this season, including ox eye daisy, knapweed, field scabious, selfheal, yarrow, wild carrot, red campion, bladder campion, buttercup, Birds foot trefoil and ladies bedstraw.

The project is part of an ongoing commitment to improving biodiversity across the county following the Council’s declaration of a Climate and Ecological Emergency in 2019.

Cllr Barry Mellor, Lead Member for Environment and Transport, said: “So much hard work has been put into producing a larger number of plants and trees for 2023, from the collection of seeds out in the countryside to the care and attention provided to help these species grow at St Asaph.

“Our group of volunteers at the tree nursery have also been amazing in helping us push this project forward and I want to thank them and the biodiversity team for continuing to make that mportance difference for nature across our county.”