Couple's woodland flourishing four years on

Thousands of trees planted by a couple at a former colliery site are thriving as a new woodland.

Terry and Tracy Featherstone, based at High Meadows near Coundon, County Durham, made the decision during lockdown to transform their 49-acre (20-hectare) site into a haven for wildlife.

The land, which used to be a colliery before becoming a farm, has now been carpeted with 25,000 trees of 14 different varieties.

The couple said they were "immensely proud and honoured" to be asked to become ambassadors of the UK Forestry Commission to promote the planting of new woodlands across the country.

Mr Featherstone, 66, explained that the couple were the first in the North East to receive the England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO) grant in 2021.

"It has been absolutely amazing, we love it," he said.

In the last four years, the land at High Meadows has been transformed, with small saplings becoming10ft (3m) tall trees.

"Everything is growing at this time of year, it looks tremendously impressive," Mr Featherstone said.

"When the wind is blowing through the leaves you really feel at one with nature."

It is hoped the variety of trees, including hazel, hawthorn, alder, oak, aspen and willow, will encourage a wide range of wildlife to live in the wood.

The £80,000 cost of planting and buying all of the trees was covered by the EWCO grant.

The UK Forestry Commission predicts the woodland will capture 4,400 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere over a 100-year period.

Mrs Featherstone, 57, said woodland and green spaces were valuable for mental health.

She said: "Life on Earth would be inconceivable without trees and nature.

"A community of adults and children can grow together in kindness and mental health when they have access to the countryside."

The Featherstones have opened up four of their fields to the public to enable walkers to enjoy the woodland too.

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