Around 6,000 trees are to be planted at Mourier Valley over the next three years in the project funded by Jersey Electricity and Jersey Water. The two utility companies are contributing £40,000 and will collaborate with the National Trust for Jersey and Jersey Trees for Life
Planting of the first 700 trees is scheduled to begin next month. The area to be planted covers around 40 vergées of land owned variously by Jersey Water, the National Trust for Jersey, the Crown and the Government of Jersey.
Jon Parkes, lands manager for the National Trust and co-manager for the project, said: ‘This is without doubt the biggest tree-planting programme the trust has undertaken, as our projects are usually for around 100 to 150 trees at a time.’
Mr Parkes said that the planting list contained mostly native tree species, plus others which he hoped would suit the exposed conditions and provide additional resources for birds and local wildlife.
Jersey Electricity chief executive Chris Ambler said: ‘We are fully supportive of the government’s carbon reduction aspirations for the Island. With a zero-carbon target to aim for, we believe that Jersey Electricity, working with respected environmental partners like Jersey Water, the National Trust and Jersey Trees for Life, can play a leading role in affecting positive change for good. It is clearly important that the Island starts a programme of action as soon as possible and we believe this project is a small but important step that helps our community start the vital journey to a zero-carbon future.’
Helier Smith, chief executive of Jersey Water, added that the project was a major step in the Island’s move towards carbon neutrality by 2030. ‘We are delighted to be helping to return the beautiful Mourier Valley and coastal headland to the woodland that it once was, securing improvements in biodiversity,’ he said. ‘This important project is a perfect example of organisations working together to address the important climate change issues that affect us all.’
National Trust for Jersey chief executive Charles Alluto said woodland cover was sparse in Jersey, having been estimated at 7% compared with figures of 12% across the UK and 28% in France.
‘Many trees were felled during the Occupation and, combined with the impact of Dutch Elm disease and the Great Storm, this has led to a sparsity of mature woodland cover, which in turn has an impact upon our biodiversity,’ he said. ‘This project takes our restoration programme to a whole new level, while providing an important, tangible carbon-offsetting focal point for Islanders.’
Once completed, it is anticipated that trails will be forged through the woods so that Islanders can walk there.
lSee a map of where the trees will be planted at
jerseyeveningpost.com.
