£40,000 reforestation project nears completion

The reforestation of Mourier Valley is entering its final stage with Jersey Electricity employees joining the National Trust for Jersey lands team for the planting of some of the final 750 trees on the 20-acre site. Picture: Tony Pike (32258834)

A MAJOR reforestation project on the north coast – designed to help the Island offset its carbon emissions – is entering its final stages.

The £40,000 initiative was co-funded by Jersey Electricity and Jersey Water who, alongside the National Trust for Jersey and Jersey Trees for Life, have worked to plant about 6,000 trees on more than eight hectares of land next to existing woodland in Mourier Valley.

The scheme is now nearing completion, with Jersey Electricity employees joining the trust’s lands team for the planting of some of the final 750 trees.

Jon Parkes, the trust’s lands manager, who is in charge of the project, said: ‘We have planted mostly native species such as common oak, wild cherry, bird cherry, hazel and silver birch, with a few exceptions, to hopefully suit the exposed conditions and provide additional resources for birds and local wildlife, such as rowan and some conifers, such as Scots pine and Monterey pine.’

Chris Ambler, chief executive of Jersey Electricity, said: ‘This has been a big undertaking and shows what can be done when organisations pull together. As well as helping to restore biodiversity in the area, the trees will absorb carbon as they mature. We fully support Jersey’s carbon-neutrality ambitions and hope the project is seen as a small but important step that helps our community start the vital journey to deliver a zero-carbon future.’

Achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 is one of the Island’s environmental targets.

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