The Forestry Commission in the West Midlands is taking part in the Great British Elm Experiment, run by the Conservation Foundation, which aims to reinstate Elm Trees into our countryside.
People may remember the destruction caused to the English Elm by Dutch elm disease in the 1970s when many mature elms succumbed to the virulent bug.
The Conservation Foundation has donated saplings taken from local mature trees which appear to have resistance to Dutch elm disease. The project hopes to inspire a new generation and to unlock the mystery of why some elms survived the disease.
Participants in the experiment are being asked to log their tree’s progress over the long term (up to fifteen years) on a specially developed ‘elm map’.
The Forestry Commission will be planting in Shobdon Woods, [where], where their growth will be monitored over the coming years.
Ade Beaumont, Forestry Commission Works Supervisor, told us:
“It is fantastic that the Forestry Commission can be involved in this project which will hopefully establish a new generation of disease resistant elms across the country. The Elm is a fantastic tree and it will be great to see mature trees as part of our landscape again”
To keep in touch with what is going on in your local Forestry Commission woods visit www.facebook.com/ourlocalwoods
For more information on the Great British Elm Experiment visit www.conservationfoundation.co.uk
Notes to editors:
The Forestry Commission is the largest provider of countryside recreation in Britain with responsibility for over one million hectares (2.4 million acres) of forest, woodlands and open countryside. The West Midlands region covers the counties of Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, the West Midlands and parts of Derbyshire and Leicestershire.
To find out more about Forestry Commission England visit www.forestry.gov.uk/england
Media contact:
Georgina Sharp (Recreation Ranger) at the Forestry Commission’s Mortimer Forest Office on 01584 813826 or 07826 875751 or email georgina.sharp@forestry.gov.uk