York research interns help create Jubilee Wood at Flamingo Land
Posted on 26 April 2012
During a two-day community planting event organised by University of York research interns, around 20 volunteers planted 2,000 native trees next to the camel enclosure at Flamingo Land Theme Park and Zoo.
The zoo’s new Jubilee Wood will not only improve local biodiversity, but will provide a sustainable source of food for browsing animals when the trees mature.
Dr Andrew Marshall
A joint initiative between the theme park and the Woodland Trust, the planting was part of the Trust’s Jubilee Woods and MOREwoods schemes which are creating new areas of native woodland across the UK.
Under its Jubilee Woods project, the Woodland Trust aims to bring millions of people together across to the UK to plant six million trees to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
Flamingo Land park staff teamed up with volunteers from the local community, Flamingo Land Resort and the University of York to create the zoo’s Jubilee Wood. Trees planted included willow, silver birch, dog rose, small-leaved lime, hawthorn, oak and elm.
The tree planting event was organised by research interns from CIRCLE – Centre for the Integration of Research, Conservation and Learning – a unique research institute dedicated to conservation awareness and education.
Jointly funded by the University of York and Flamingo Land, CIRCLE is playing an important role in protecting habitats and species both locally and internationally.
Dr Andrew Marshall, Director of Conservation at Flamingo Land and Lecturer in the Environment Department at the University of York, said: “The zoo’s new Jubilee Wood will not only improve local biodiversity, but will provide a sustainable source of food for browsing animals when the trees mature.
“As part of general wood maintenance, woods are thinned and branches removed. This will provide an excellent new source of food, particularly for the giraffes.”
With Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal as Patron and the Queen’s backing, the Jubilee Woods project will create hundreds of Jubilee Woods across the country.
Georgina McLeod, Project Head at the Woodland Trust, said: “The area of new native woodland at Flamingo Land will form a lasting, living legacy celebrating Her Majesty’s reign, as well as supporting local wildlife.”
Last year the CIRCLE interns worked with the Woodland Trust to plant another 2,000 trees at the theme park and also set up 45 bird nest boxes, including an owl box.
The University of York has also been working with the Trust to create a special Diamond Wood under the Jubilee Woods project on its £750m campus extension at Heslington East.
The only one of its kind in North Yorkshire, the 60-acre site on the University’s new Heslington East campus at Kimberlow Hill was chosen by the Woodland Trust to be one of just 60 Diamond Woods in the UK – one for each year of Her Majesty’s reign.
Notes to editors:
- The CIRCLE institute (Centre for the Integration of Research, Conservation and Learning) was launched in October 2010 and is part of the University of York’s Environment Department based at Flamingo Land. For further information on the Environment Department visit www.york.ac.uk/environment
- For more information on the Woodland Trust’s Jubilee Woods project visit www.jubileewoods.org.uk
- The University of York’s £750 million campus extension at Heslington East is one of the biggest capital developments in UK higher education in recent years. Its development was supported by investment from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) in Yorkshire and the Humber, part of a major infrastructure project led by Science City York to extend the assets and strategic potential of York as a leading centre for science and innovation.Visit www.york.ac.uk/campus-development/
- Flamingo Land Resort was founded in 1961 and today houses over 130 species of animals and over 50 theme park rides. Flamingo Land plays an active role in conservation and education both in the zoo, and in Tanzania through the park’s Udzungwa Forest Project. Anyone interested in volunteering to help with education and conservation can contact volunteers@flamingoland.co.uk. Flamingo Land holds a David Bellamy Gold Award for conservation and the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums Award for the Best Field Conservation Programme. Visit www.flamingoland.co.uk/park/zoo-and-conservation.html
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