Revisiting the Stoney Wood

An investment in the future

The children, who attend Manorfield C of E Primary School in the village of Stoney Stanton, not only got to see how the saplings planted in March last year were thriving, but representatives of the Woodland Trust also guided them through the process of planting some new trees of their own.   The children learned about the importance of native woodland, as well as about the wildlife who call it home – and at the same time planted 150 new saplings to replace those lost during the winter.   According to Woodland Trust statistics, the Leicestershire area only has 3.8 per cent woodland cover compared to a national average of 12 per cent, so Calor’s flagship site is a very welcome addition.   Penny Pulfrey from the Woodland Trust said: “The best thing about this new wood is it’s been created by children from the local school, along with Calor staff and their families from the local area, who will be able to use the wood and watch it grow as they get older and eventually have families of their own.”   The children certainly embraced this idea, many of them naming the trees they had planted with a view to visiting them and watching them grow over the years!   The planting of the Stoney Wood was the flagship event in an ongoing calendar of activity to support Calor’s commitment to the Woodland Trust’s MOREwoods scheme. The scheme aims to double native woodland cover in the UK by helping landowners create woods on their own land. Calor has provided £300,000 towards the costs of the project over the last four years, which includes funding the planting of 60,000 trees throughout the UK.   Penny continues: “Calor’s support of the Woodland Trust is not just financial: it’s also about helping us realise our aspiration of planting 2.75 million trees a year in the UK – and the Stoney Wood is a key part of that.”   Tony Ainsworth, Customer Operation Manager at Stoney Stanton, said: “Once again, the children from Manorfield School have done an excellent job, and it is great to see how much they get out of the woodland even at this early stage. The Wood will be a fantastic asset for the local community and everybody here at the depot is looking forward to seeing the woodland develop and grow over the next few years.”