Sargeant sees the value of woodlands through the trees

The Minister for Natural Resources today visited Maelor Nurseries, Wrexham to learn more about the work they do to grow transplants for planting in new and existing woodland in Wales.

The growing of local trees makes an important contribution to sustainable rural development in Wales and during his visit, the Minister announced the next step in the roll-out of Glastir under the new Rural Development Programme, inviting landowners to come forward with their proposals to plant new woodland.

The Minister said:

“Maelor grows a range of young trees for tree planting in Wales, undertaking innovative tree breeding to improve the quality of trees for timber production and also ensure that native species of local provenance are available to enable foresters to restore important ancient woodland.

“We must carefully consider woodlands in the wider context of natural resource management and how it fits in with our sustainable development principles, particularly in light of the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act. Our Woodland for Wales strategy sets out how we want Wales to be known for its high quality woodlands that enhance the landscape, provide real social and community benefits, support thriving woodland-based industries and contribute to a better quality environment.

“I am keen to ensure that tree planting under the new RDP can get underway as soon as possible and the new scheme will provide flexible opportunities for farm woodlands. We’re therefore inviting landowners to come forward with their proposals to plant new woodland and help lock up carbon.”

The forestry industry is worth over £450m to the Welsh economy, providing more than 11,000 jobs.

Maelor Nurseries are owned by Mike Harvey, also Chairman of ConFor in Wales, and markets approximately 20 million trees a year to customers throughout the UK and Europe.  Mr Harvey and his team also liaise with universities, research establishments, laboratories and colleges to gain up-to-the minute technical support and training.

The Expression of Interest (EOI) period for Glastir Woodland Creation will open on Monday (15 June) and will remain open for five weeks.

The scheme will be funded under recently approved £1bn Rural Development Programme (RDP) 2014-2020.

There will be two EOI rounds in 2015 so that landowners and managers can plan for the 2015/16 planting season.

Full details of the scheme will be published on the Welsh Government website on 15 June. Further details can be found on Gwlad online and RPW Online.