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THE
FIGHT to save the black poplar
tree from extinction has seen a mass
planting in Shipley.
More
than 1,300 of the rare
riverside trees were set in the ground on
Friday February 1 on a one hectare site at
Tenchford Bridge, previously used as a horse
paddock.
Organisations
involved in the project included Sussex
Wildlife Trust (SWT), West Sussex County
Council Low Weald and 'Gatwick 'Green Space.
Fran
Southgate, an officer with the Sussex
Otters and Rivers Project (SORP), led the
project. She said: "'The volunteers were
great - they worked hard to plant all the
trees.
"This
area will be one of the first wet woodlands
with native poplars in Sussex. It includes
nearly 70 black poplar trees taken as
cuttings from
the only 33 remaining mature black poplars
in the county.
"The
Sussex Black Poplar Group has been working
to save the black poplar for ten years.
"By
recreating its traditional habitat, it is
hoped that these rare, trees
may be able to reproduce naturally
for the first time.
"Floodplain
woodland is almost an extinct
habitat in Sussex."
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Miss
Southgate added: "What we are trying to
encourage is more flooding in rural areas,
in appropriate areas, which would takeaway flooding
from urban areas.
"A
lot of our
rivers are very over managed
and do not flood naturally.'
Already
signs are showing that the woodland area is
doing what is
required.
"The
site flooded every time we tried
to plant trees," explained Miss
Southgate. "It is' brilliant because
that is
what we wanted it to do - but obviously
we can't plapt trees when it is
flooded."
Floodplain
woodlands are an almost extinct habitat type
in Sussex and
without intervention these trees are likely
to become extinct in the near
future.
"
Charlie
Burrell, the local ]landowner, is, actively
helping to restore wildlife to the whole of
the Knepp.
This
floodplain woodland planting project
is just one of his initiatives.
The
estate is also working closely with local
organisations to restore more than two kilometers
of river to its natural state, as well as
more than 5OOO acres of land to more
natural, "wildlife management.
For
More Information on SORP visit the website www.sussexwt.org.uk
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