Around 3,500 trees have been planted on top of a former landfill area in Mansfield Woodhouse as part of the Trees for Climate project.

The Mansfield District Council site off Common Lane, which covers three hectares (7.6 acres), was originally a quarry before being used for landfill in the 1950s.

With no agricultural value, the land has had little use since and was suggested, together with other plots around the district, for new recreational woodland.

It is the final site to have been planted with saplings and shrubs, thanks to a team of 180 volunteers led by conservation charity The Sherwood Forest Trust.

Helen Sullivan, chief executive of the trust, said: “It has been great to work with local communities to plant these trees. It has been an enormous undertaking, but it shows just what can be achieved when we all work together.

“When people get involved in projects like this, it helps to engender a sense of belonging, interest, and care for their local environment. These new woodlands are for everyone to enjoy — and for everyone to care for and respect.”

Trees for Climate, a government- funded project managed locally by Greenwood Community Forest, is a Nottinghamshire County Council initiative working in partnership with four district councils in the county.

The Mansfield district has benefitted from £61,000 funding to create new woodlands, with around 7,000 trees being planted since 2023 with the help of nearly 500 volunteers.

Other council sites that have been planted as part of the scheme are:

Warsop Vale Open Space, Carter Lane.
Deepdale Open Space, off Deepdale Road, Forest Town.
Fisher Lane Park, Mansfield.
Maun Valley Local Nature Reserve, Mansfield.
Thorpelands Open Space off Thorpelands Avenue, Forest Town.
Peafield Park, Mansfield Woodhouse.
Carr Lane Park, Warsop.
Leeming Lane Open Space, Mansfield Woodhouse.

Among the species to be planted at the Common Lane site are oak, rowan, birch, alder. dogwood and holly. At other sites hazel, maple, willow, cherry, beech, poplar, horse chestnut, hawthorn, blackthorn, broom, and gorse have also been established. The council said the species selected would not grow out of control or require significant maintenance by the parks team.

Mayor Andy Abrahams said: “The Trees for Climate scheme has seen thousands of trees planted in the district and our huge thanks go the Greenwood Community Forest and to Sherwood Forest Trust, and the hundreds of volunteers who have helped out over the past couple of years to get these young trees into the ground.

“It has been hard work carried out in all weathers but it has generated tremendous community spirit with people of all ages coming together to improve their neighbourhoods.

“In 15 years’ time the new trees will really begin to transform these sites, helping to capture carbon and regenerating open spaces into beautiful recreational woodlands that will help wildlife to thrive and which everyone can enjoy.

“Planting trees is an important part of contributing towards achieving net zero and is just one the ways the council is addressing climate action.”

The council said it is estimated that each tree can capture up to 150kg of carbon per year. With the additional 3,500 trees planted, it is expected up to 525 metric tons of carbon annually will be captured.

That’s equivalent to 60,000 petrol driven car journeys of 50 miles each — helping to improve air quality and overall quality of life.