THE National Bird of Prey Hospital has partnered with the Hampshire Forest Partnership to help it reach its goal of planting one million trees before 2050.

A step towards that goal came when 75 trees donated by the partnership were planted at the Hawk Conservancy Trust, near Andover.

The trees, in their infant stage, were planted by some young nature enthusiasts visiting the trust on the day.

Elliot, Lewis, Harry and Emily each planted a tree which will grow to form a hedgerow along the new John Ellicock Outdoor Classroom recently built at the trust. The hedgerow is made of a mixture of Blackthorn, Hawthorn, Hazel, Elder, Dogwood, Crab Apple and Field Maple. 

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Chief executive Penny Smout said: “It was really important that young people were invited to plant these trees in a space which will hopefully inspire and be used by thousands of pupils and students to learn about the importance of birds of prey and their habitats. Trees and hedgerows are key to some species as a foraging habitat and for roosting. We were so delighted that Elliot, Lewis, Harry and Emily each planted a tree and wrote their name on the tree guard.  We hope each of them visits the Trust many times in the future to watch them grow.”

Cllr Russell Oppenheimer, Hampshire County Council’s executive member for the countryside and regulatory services added: “the Hampshire Forest Partnership is all about bringing people, organisations and communities together to learn about and enjoy their environment and help us to deliver our target of planting one million trees across the county by 2050. We are delighted to be working with the Hawk Conservancy Trust to help in their efforts to conserve our beautiful birds of prey and plant more trees to support this excellent endeavour”.

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The John Ellicock Outdoor Classroom, named in memory of our former Director and long-standing, close supporter of the Trust who sadly passed away in 2022, was also part-funded by the Loddon and Test LEADER Programme and European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development. 

To find out more about their conservation, research and education work, visit hawkconservancy.org.