Shaftesbury Town Tree Plan 2020-2025 (as at autumn 2021)Shaftesbury's Trees - what we have inheritedWe are fortunate in Shaftesbury to have fairly good tree cover, though this is uneven, the most treed areas being in the old part of town. Forestry Commission data shows that Shaftesbury West Ward has an estimated tree canopy cover of 22.9% (+/- 2.0%), and East Ward with a tree canopy cover of 7.7% (+/-1.5%). It is not surprising that the significant areas for trees follow the development of Shaftesbury as a town, so the longest inhabited places usually have the oldest and greatest mix of trees, as do the outlying Victorian houses with large gardens and often exotic trees of some stature. Other veteran and indigenous trees tend to be old hedgerow and boundary trees and churchyard yews - such as the Shaston Yew in Bury Litton and the Boundary Oak on the northeastern edge of town by Higher Wincombe. To redress the imbalance of tree cover, the Woodland Trust propose that 30% of the land in new developments is planted with trees.We need your helpWe cannot plant trees for the town but with the town by involving existing community groups and interested individuals.We are looking for volunteers who will not only help plant trees, but also become Tree Guardians by taking on the responsibility of caring for - watering the trees in dry spells and reporting any damage or vandalism to us. Experienced and novice planters are welcome as individuals and in groups.
