Five years of funding, with an option to extend by a further five-year period, have been made available by the British Ecological Society to support long-term research at Gair Wood. Currently, around 13% of the UK is woodland and the UK’s Climate Change Committee recommend increasing this coverage to 17-19% to support reaching a target...
UK uplands could naturally establish new woodlands in areas where sheep are removed. Research from the Wild Ingleborough project, in the Yorkshire Dales, highlights the potential for ‘natural colonisation’ as an alternative technique to traditional tree planting. In the UK, uplands are often open landscapes with few trees or wooded areas. However, pollen records show...
Guest blog by Surbhi Thakur, Gair Wood Student Sustainability Architect This winter season, I finally had the chance to visit Gair Wood, the University of Leeds' ambitious tree-planting project I had been hearing so much about. Unlike many others though, I was not there for the initial planting drive. My visit came almost a year...
Large areas of forest around the world have been heavily degraded by logging, fire and hunting. Restoring degraded forests helps to slow climate change, reduces flooding and provides a home for threatened wildlife. Stronger action to restore forests is urgently needed for the benefit of people, nature and our climate. Stopping forest degradation and starting...
Since completing a successful pre-planting survey last summer at the University's new research woodland, Gair Wood, Alana Thornton has returned to the site this year for a master's research project. Over two months, Alana recorded the diversity of birds and invertebrates at Gair Wood in the first summer since the woodland was planted. Alana's research...
Pay: Placements are paid at University of Leeds Grade 3 level. Duration: 6 weeks full time starting in June/July/August Eligibility: UK citizens and people with a pre-existing right to work in the UK, undertaking their first degree (undergraduate or integrated masters) at any UK university. Accessibility: One additional placement available as ringfenced for UK Black, Asian...
The final tree at Gair Wood has now been planted. The pedunculate oak seedling was planted by Anna Gugan, one of the key team members behind the design and creation of the woodland. It marks the completion of work which has seen more than 60,000 trees planted since January. Gair Wood has been planted using...
A UK Treescape Fellowship has been awarded to Dr Jim Parker, an academic based at Leeds Beckett University, who will be working closely with the University of Leeds and and Leeds City Council to carry out his research. Urban treescapes can help regulate overheating and air pollution in cities. However, to reliably affect policy and...
Volunteer planting efforts began this week at the University of Leeds' new research woodland, Gair Wood. Approximately 66,000 trees are due to be planted at the Gair Wood site in January and February 2023, with around 10% being planted by local volunteers. While the majority of planting will be conducted by professional contractors, some areas...
by Alana Thornton (@Ecologicalana | LinkedIn) This Summer I joined the University of Leeds woodland creation project, researching the diversity of animals currently found in the grassland habitat that is destined to become Gair Wood. The University are working in partnership with the United Bank of Carbon (UBoC) to plant ~60,000 trees on 37 hectares...