Woodland Trust plans Captain Tom's Memorial Woodland
PR manager
Holme House Wood, Keighley will be renamed and redesigned in honour of Captain Sir Tom Moore.
Seventeen acres of ancient woodland and open ground on the outskirts of Keighley, West Yorkshire will be renamed 'Captain Tom’s Memorial Wood' and extended in honour of the centenarian charity fundraiser.
Nestled on the banks of the North Beck, between the historic hamlets of Laycock and Goose Eye near Captain Sir Tom’s childhood home, the extension will include the planting of more than 3,000 hedgerow trees and shrubs, including hawthorn, hazel, and field maple.
Small pockets of individual trees will be planted across three meadows to retain key areas of open space and the existing views at the site, known as Holme House Wood after being acquired by the Trust in 1991.
Denser areas of tree planting will be carried out to buffer and protect the existing irreplaceable ancient woodland.
Captain Tom, who raised £38m for NHS charities by walking laps of his garden during the first coronavirus lockdown, died at the age of 100 in February.
The Queen led tributes, praising “the inspiration he provided for the whole nation and others across the world".
Sir Captain Tom’s daughter, Lucy Teixeira said:
“This is a wonderful fitting tribute to my father and his love of nature. Trees for Tom grew from my environmental colleagues asking what they could do to honour my father’s death. I asked them to plant trees. This project highlights those who have lost a loved one in the last 18 months. Captain Tom’s Memorial Woodland will be for everyone in the community and for anyone who wants to come and remember a loved one. This wood gives us hope for a greener future with nature at the core of all our thinking.”
Species planted at Captain Tom’s Memorial Woodland will include oak, rowan, alder, hawthorn, blackthorn, hazel, field maple, crab apple, dog rose and guelder rose – and the site will be plastic free.
Sir Tom’s famous motto, ‘Tomorrow will be a good day’ will be engraved on a semi-circular seat near an existing drystone wall looking out over the meadow.
The wood, a site of special interest because of its rich ground flora, has great displays of bluebells in spring and iconic bird species such as sparrowhawk, great spotted woodpecker, and on occasion visitors will spot kingfishers making their way along the beck.
Fellow Yorkshireman and site manager Alistair Nash, Woodland Trust said:
“It’s an honour to rename and extend this beautiful site in tribute to a great Yorkshireman.
“Sir Tom was concerned about what the future holds for his grandchildren and the negative impact we are having on our planet. We hope this wood will be a fitting memorial to Sir Tom and will inspire people from across the UK, to protect and cherish the natural environment whist enjoying all the splendour this site has to offer.”
The site falls within the White Rose Forest, part of the Northern Forest, where the Trust and Community Forest partners plan to plant over 50 million trees from Hull to Liverpool. Planting at the site and other works will begin in March 2022 and are hoped to be finished by autumn 2022. This site, as with all owned by the Woodland Trust, will have free public access.
Notes to editors
For more information on this release contact the Woodland Trust press office on 01476 602 993 or email media@woodlandtrust.org.uk
Trees for Tom
Captain Sir Tom Moore united and inspired the nation, giving hope when it was needed most. Together we'll remember him with trees.
About the Woodland Trust
The Woodland Trust is the largest woodland conservation charity in the UK. It has over 500,000 supporters. It wants to see a UK rich in native woods and trees for people and wildlife.
The Trust has three key aims:
- protect ancient woodland which is rare, unique and irreplaceable
- restoration of damaged ancient woodland, bringing precious pieces of our natural history back to life
- plant native trees and woods with the aim of creating resilient landscapes for people and wildlife.
Established in 1972, the Woodland Trust now has over 1,000 sites in its care covering approximately 29,000 hectares. Access to its woods is free so everyone can benefit from woods and trees.
Northern Forest
The Northern Forest has established over 3 million new trees since 2018 and is helping to transform the landscape from coast to coast and in and around cities such as Liverpool, Chester, Manchester, Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield, York and Hull.
The Northern Forest area is around 10,000 square miles and home to 13 million people but has only 7.6% woodland cover - well below Europe’s average. Across England, only 10% of our land area is covered by woodland. In Scotland that stands at 18%, and in France, Germany and Spain it is 31%, 33% and 37% respectively.
The community forests – The Mersey Forest, the White Rose Forest, City of Trees and HEYwoods – have been working with the Woodland Trust to deliver the Northern Forest plans since 2018.
The White Rose Forest is the community forest for North and West Yorkshire, working in partnership with local communities, government, businesses and landowners to plant trees for the benefit of everyone. The White Rose Forest team are experts in woodland creation and provide free planning, funding and delivery support for tree planting projects across the region. For more information visit: www.whiteroseforest.org