Elemore Woods
FIRST GLIMPSE OF WHITE HILL WOOD ON GUIDED WALK
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Gordon Pfetscher explains woodland techniques
April 2008
Woodland walkers got their first glimpse of the new extension to Elemore woods near Easington last week when the Woodland Trust organised a guided walk around its new site.
Around 30 walkers joined woodland officer Gary Haley and other Woodland Trust staff to explore White Hill Wood, following a meeting at Elemore Family Golfing Centre where locals got the chance to tell the Trust what they would like to see on the new site and how Elemore and White Hill Woods should be managed.
Gary Haley said: “It was a success – we had a good turn out for the meeting and around 30 people joined us on the walk afterwards. We were able to show them Cherry Garth, which is White Hill’s Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), and its mature woodland, which is a very rich wildlife environment.
“There’s lots of spring growth already coming through in the open areas, and we hope other members of the public will take advantage of any spring weather to come and explore the site for themselves over the coming weeks.”
Discussions included the use of pathways and rides, and local involvement in community planting sessions which will see more than 90,000 native broadleaved trees and shrubs turn the arable landscape of White Hill Woods into part of a continuous area of native woodland stretching 4 km (2.5 miles) between Easington Lane in Tyne and Wear and South Hetton to Littletown, Co Durham.
Elemore and White Hill Woods sit in the unique ‘magnesian limestone’ landscape between Durham and Sunderland, and is the area’s largest publicly accessible woodland. The purchase of Elemore Woods’ extension was made with help from local fundraising, plus generous grants from SITA Trust, County Durham Environmental Trust (CDENT), the Heritage Lottery Fund and Biffaward. Local charitable trusts and a major supporter of the Woodland Trust also made vital contributions. A local appeal currently has over £8,700 in pledges.
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