Next Steps<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
It became clear that a focus on tree, shrub and hedge\n(re)planting would enable delivery of many of the solutions identified in the\nReport. Trees help to prevent\nflooding by slowing the flow of water, allowing it to percolate through the\nsoil into the aquifers rather than overwhelming streams and rivers. They reduce pollution, keep soil\nnutrient-rich, provide shelter, wood, fruit and nuts and play a significant\nrole in carbon capture. They increase\nbiodiversity supporting wildlife and insects and play an important role in the\nmental and physical health of us all. \nIn the planting years 2017-2019 RtL was involved in supporting\nlandowners in planting hedges, woodland and orchards of some 30 sites many\nusing volunteers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2019 and at the beginning of 2020 we organised two\nConferences with invitations sent to every parish council in the four Districts\nof Somerset and set out the case for increased tree planting in these\nlocalities. Grants for planting\nhas almost exclusively been for large tracts of land and it was important to emphasise\nthe contribution smaller plantings can make to flood mitigation, particularly\nwhen informed by local knowledge ie where the flooding occurs in times of heavy\nrainfall. Local small plantings\nwould also inevitably draw in local people and thus increase their sense of\nconnection and ownership of the trees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Public and Partnership Engagement <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The response has been overwhelmingly positive with\nhigh attendance and engagement at both Conferences. Individuals and community groups have identified plots of\nland, some big, some small where trees can be planted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n With such an enthusiastic uptake from the Parish\nCouncils we approached the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group South West<\/strong>\nand the Somerset Rivers Authority<\/strong> who agreed to fund a tree planting\nprogramme for better water management. \nThe Trees for Water Scheme, focused at the moment in South Somerset and\nMendip Districts, offers grants, advice on planting, trees, protectors and\nfencing for planting on areas that help the absorption and flow of water in the\nmain river catchments, the Brue, Axe and Parrett and tributaries. At the time of writing, there are 7\napproved schemes and another 8 that have been visited and considered viable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n On Saturday 12 December our first Covid-secure\nvolunteer tree planting event took place on a glorious site on the middle\ncatchment above the Somerset Levels. \nThe sun shone as 18 happy people planted 150 native species of trees and\nshrubs on a sloping south facing field sheltered from the cold wind. Site owner Caterine provided delicious\nsoup and told us:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cClimate change has been forefront in my mind\nfor some time and planting trees on a slope behind the house seemed something\npositive I could do. It feels a privilege that I can do this for future\ngenerations. I\u2019m looking forward to showing my grandchildren the new trees and\nfollowing their growth over the years. An unexpected benefit has been\nmeeting a group of friendly, generous, like-minded people who I look forward to\nplanting more trees with in the New Year\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Following our success with the\nTrees for Water scheme, we were approached by the Environment Agency to deliver\nRiparian (riverbank) planting, again to help with water management. This scheme has again been hugely\npopular with 12 plantings going forward for approval. This \u2018Woodlands\nfor Water\u2019 funding forms part of the \u00a3640 million Nature for Climate fund to\nsupport the government\u2019s tree planting commitment and will be used for this. The project, which is being spearheaded\nby FWAG SW and RtLs will see 29,973 trees and hedging planted across Somerset\nand we are pleased to play our part in this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The wonderful Woodland Trust has provided us with 14000\nhealthy trees, shrubs and hedging plants of some 35 species. Another 4000 are coming shortly. We\nhave worked hard at creating a Tree Nursery from scratch, where the trees can\nawait collection before their final planting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite 2020 being a terrible year, trees are\nbeing planted and new, healthier landscapes are being formed. The total of allocated trees is\npresently around 8000; the smallest scheme we have supported is for just 100\ntrees and the largest 1000; the furthest south we have planted in Chard and the\nfurthest North is Wanstrow. We\nhave supported planting in or around Community Farmland, Recreational Ground,\nAncient Woodland, an Ecological Land Cooperative as well as private land and\napplications are still coming in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Volunteers will be needed for planting in January, February and March, dates to be confirmed, and if this is something you would like to get involved with, please send your contact details to Kate Towers. katetowersrtl@gmail.com<\/a> or call 07872-664543.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once again,\nthank you for your continued interest and commitment to our vision for revitalising\nand safeguarding the landscapes and communities of the Somerset Levels.<\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column]\n\t\t\t[\/et_pb_row]\n\t\t[\/et_pb_section]","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As we reflect on times past and times to come, we present this summary of our activities since 2014. THANK YOU for your support! (You can skip the recap and head down to news of future plantings at the bottom if you prefer). How we Started Reimagining the Levels is a Community Benefit Society formed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"\n As we reflect on times past and times to come, we present this summary of our activities since 2014. THANK YOU for your support! <\/p>\n\n\n\n (You can skip the recap and head down to news of future plantings at the bottom if you prefer).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reimagining the Levels is a Community Benefit Society\nformed in the aftermath of the devasting floods of 2013\/14 on the Somerset\nLevels. The impact of these floods\non individuals, communities, the economy and the environment demonstrated the\npressing need to build a resilient landscape that could survive the impact of\nmore frequent extreme weather events brought about by climate change. <\/p>\n\n\n\n From its initial meetings, Reimagining the Levels published a report that brought together the challenges facing the landscapes and communities in this unique and fragile place and identified some possible sustainable solutions.\u00a0 Reimagining the Levels<\/a><\/strong>, <\/a>Making the Connections<\/a><\/strong> emphasised the necessity for joined-up thinking and action to meet these challenges but at its very heart was the need to maximise the engagement of local people, many of whom were affected by the floods, in determining the priorities for social and economic development and environmental protection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It became clear that a focus on tree, shrub and hedge\n(re)planting would enable delivery of many of the solutions identified in the\nReport. Trees help to prevent\nflooding by slowing the flow of water, allowing it to percolate through the\nsoil into the aquifers rather than overwhelming streams and rivers. They reduce pollution, keep soil\nnutrient-rich, provide shelter, wood, fruit and nuts and play a significant\nrole in carbon capture. They increase\nbiodiversity supporting wildlife and insects and play an important role in the\nmental and physical health of us all. \nIn the planting years 2017-2019 RtL was involved in supporting\nlandowners in planting hedges, woodland and orchards of some 30 sites many\nusing volunteers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2019 and at the beginning of 2020 we organised two\nConferences with invitations sent to every parish council in the four Districts\nof Somerset and set out the case for increased tree planting in these\nlocalities. Grants for planting\nhas almost exclusively been for large tracts of land and it was important to emphasise\nthe contribution smaller plantings can make to flood mitigation, particularly\nwhen informed by local knowledge ie where the flooding occurs in times of heavy\nrainfall. Local small plantings\nwould also inevitably draw in local people and thus increase their sense of\nconnection and ownership of the trees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The response has been overwhelmingly positive with\nhigh attendance and engagement at both Conferences. Individuals and community groups have identified plots of\nland, some big, some small where trees can be planted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n With such an enthusiastic uptake from the Parish\nCouncils we approached the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group South West<\/strong>\nand the Somerset Rivers Authority<\/strong> who agreed to fund a tree planting\nprogramme for better water management. \nThe Trees for Water Scheme, focused at the moment in South Somerset and\nMendip Districts, offers grants, advice on planting, trees, protectors and\nfencing for planting on areas that help the absorption and flow of water in the\nmain river catchments, the Brue, Axe and Parrett and tributaries. At the time of writing, there are 7\napproved schemes and another 8 that have been visited and considered viable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n On Saturday 12 December our first Covid-secure\nvolunteer tree planting event took place on a glorious site on the middle\ncatchment above the Somerset Levels. \nThe sun shone as 18 happy people planted 150 native species of trees and\nshrubs on a sloping south facing field sheltered from the cold wind. Site owner Caterine provided delicious\nsoup and told us:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cClimate change has been forefront in my mind\nfor some time and planting trees on a slope behind the house seemed something\npositive I could do. It feels a privilege that I can do this for future\ngenerations. I\u2019m looking forward to showing my grandchildren the new trees and\nfollowing their growth over the years. An unexpected benefit has been\nmeeting a group of friendly, generous, like-minded people who I look forward to\nplanting more trees with in the New Year\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Following our success with the\nTrees for Water scheme, we were approached by the Environment Agency to deliver\nRiparian (riverbank) planting, again to help with water management. This scheme has again been hugely\npopular with 12 plantings going forward for approval. This \u2018Woodlands\nfor Water\u2019 funding forms part of the \u00a3640 million Nature for Climate fund to\nsupport the government\u2019s tree planting commitment and will be used for this. The project, which is being spearheaded\nby FWAG SW and RtLs will see 29,973 trees and hedging planted across Somerset\nand we are pleased to play our part in this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The wonderful Woodland Trust has provided us with 14000\nhealthy trees, shrubs and hedging plants of some 35 species. Another 4000 are coming shortly. We\nhave worked hard at creating a Tree Nursery from scratch, where the trees can\nawait collection before their final planting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite 2020 being a terrible year, trees are\nbeing planted and new, healthier landscapes are being formed. The total of allocated trees is\npresently around 8000; the smallest scheme we have supported is for just 100\ntrees and the largest 1000; the furthest south we have planted in Chard and the\nfurthest North is Wanstrow. We\nhave supported planting in or around Community Farmland, Recreational Ground,\nAncient Woodland, an Ecological Land Cooperative as well as private land and\napplications are still coming in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Volunteers will be needed for planting in January, February and March, dates to be confirmed, and if this is something you would like to get involved with, please send your contact details to Kate Towers. katetowersrtl@gmail.com<\/a> or call 07872-664543.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once again,\nthank you for your continued interest and commitment to our vision for revitalising\nand safeguarding the landscapes and communities of the Somerset Levels.<\/p>\n","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-annoucements"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/reimaginingthelevels.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/reimaginingthelevels.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/reimaginingthelevels.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reimaginingthelevels.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reimaginingthelevels.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1194"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/reimaginingthelevels.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1194\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1447,"href":"https:\/\/reimaginingthelevels.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1194\/revisions\/1447"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/reimaginingthelevels.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reimaginingthelevels.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reimaginingthelevels.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/reimaginingthelevels.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/tree-planting-RTL-Somerset.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n1st<\/sup> Volunteer Planting for\nTrees for Water<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/reimaginingthelevels.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/2002.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nReimagining the Levels reputation\nfor delivering grows<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Trees, Trees Everywhere<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/reimaginingthelevels.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/tree-planting-2-RTL-Somerset.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nAnd Now …<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How we Started<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Next Steps<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Public and Partnership Engagement <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n1st<\/sup> Volunteer Planting for\nTrees for Water<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nReimagining the Levels reputation\nfor delivering grows<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Trees, Trees Everywhere<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nAnd Now ...<\/h2>\n\n\n\n