CrossCountry Trains supported the planting of 5,000 climate resilient trees across the UK in 2022-23

This year, CrossCountry Trains have planted 5,000 trees with GreenTheUK as part of a wider wildlife support programme. A wide variety of species have been planted across different woodlands to help restore UK tree cover and protect local biodiversity. See below for details on the richness of species.

In June 2023, we welcomed CrossCountry Trains team to Battram Wood for a day in the woodlands to connect with nautre, support practical conservation and plant pear trees.

Tree Species Planted:

1,796 trees planted in Northumberland

This woodland was devastated by Strom Arwen in 2021. Mature trees were uprooted by the storm and many trees that could have been sold for timber were smashed as they fell. These trees were decades old and the work that has gone into growing and caring for them has sadly come to very little. By supporting this project you are directly helping to alleviate the devastating effects of this storm and grow a storm resilient woodland for the future.

37 Trees Planted

Alder: Alnus Glutinosa

Alder can be found across Europe and thrives in moist ground and damp cool areas, which is why you’ll often see alder trees planted near rivers and ponds. Moth caterpillars love alder leaves and the tree’s roots make an ideal nesting site for otters. For humans, the real value of alder wood is that it’s durable when wet, so is useful for making boats and sluice gates. The story goes that outlaws like Robin Hood would have used the green dye from alder flowers to camouflage their clothing!

342 Trees Planted

Silver Birch: Betula Pendula

The silver birch is an elegant, majestic-looking tree which can survive in a range of climates, making it a very popular choice for gardeners. It attracts hundreds of insect species, and woodpeckers like to nest in its rough, tough, silver-white trunk. There is a lot of mythology attached to the silver birch, which is said to symbolise purity, new beginnings and protection. Once upon a time, on Midsummer’s Eve, silver birch boughs were hung across the doors of houses to bring good luck to their residents.

1,088 Trees Planted

Scots Pine: Pinus Sylvestris

The UK’s only truly native pine is Scotland’s national tree and can be found in abundance in the Highlands. The Caledonian Pine Forest is home to all sorts of wonderful species including the pine marten, red squirrel and rare Scottish wildcat. Scots pine has strong timber which is used for making fences, telegraph poles and other construction materials, and the bark can be tapped for resin to make turpentine.

329 Trees Planted

Douglas Fir: Pseudotsuga Menziesii

Douglas fir was first introduced to the UK from North America in the 1800s. These fragrant evergreen members of the pine family can live for up to 1,000 years, but are often cut down for use as Christmas trees. Douglas fir timber has lots of commercial uses, including furniture, flooring and decking, for example.

804 trees planted in West Sussex

Norway spruce has been felled to make way for a mix of native broadleaf trees. These trees will help to provide shelter, food and habitats for local wildlife. Trees such as hazel and crab apple will provide nuts and fruit for mammals and birds. Some of the trees (such as guelder rose) are especially good for pollinating insects. In 100 years (or more) some of the oak trees that are planted could be felled to provide sustainable building materials.

80 Trees Planted

Field Maple: Acer Campestre

This species is the UK’s only native maple and is often grown as an ornamental tree in large gardens and parks, as well as in woods and hedgerows. Its wood is white, hard and strong, and is popular for making furniture, flooring and musical instruments, especially harps. Field maple flowers are hermaphrodite, meaning each flower contains both male and female reproductive parts.

161 Trees Planted

Hornbeam: Carpinus Betulus

The hornbeam is extremely tough and keeps its leaves all year round, making it an attractive proposition for birds, insects and other animals. Hornbeam wood is very hard, in fact it is also known as “ironwood” and the Romans recognised its durability, using it to make their chariots. Nowadays, this timber is used for tool handles, coach wheels, parquet flooring and chess pieces!

563 Trees Planted

Sessile Oak: Quercus Petraea

The sessile oak is Ireland’s national tree and can be found across Europe. Sessile means “without a stalk”, and this tree’s acorns are stalkless, growing directly on twigs. Oaks provide a habitat for many creatures, including red squirrels, badgers, jays, caterpillars and around 250 more species of wildlife.

900 trees planted in Pembrokeshire

Salix alba (cricket bat willow) has traditionally been grown in the South East of England as a commercial crop. UK-grown cricket bat willow is seen as a premium product, much prized above cricket bat willow grown across Europe. It is in particularly high demand in India and Pakistan for cricket bats. The drought in 2022 underlined the unpredictability of weather patterns, affecting willows grown in South East England. As the climate changes, traditionally wet Wales will provide significant opportunities for cricket bat willow. 1,000 cricket bat willows whips, sourced from a nursery in Sussex, were planted on a hillside in West Wales. The whips are being watered by spring water which is being pumped uphill using power from solar panels. As the whips grow they will be coppiced in around four years and the resulting poles planted to grow into new trees. These will be planted at 40 willows per acre, ten metres apart. The original plantings will then regrow ready for future coppicing and to produce yet more trees. After decades of being grazed by sheep or used for silage, biodiversity along this valley has been depleted. A key objective is to increase local biodiversity both within the nursery meadow and the plantation. The area has also been devasted by Ash Dieback and the new plantings will help link with an existing sycamore woodland and another newly planted mixed species woodland.

900 Trees Planted

Cricket Bat Willow: Salix alba 'Caerulea'

The Cricket Bat Willow, apart from its connection to the sport, offers numerous environmental benefits. This slender and graceful tree plays a crucial role in stabilising riverbanks, preventing soil erosion, and improving water quality. Its flexible branches provide habitat for a variety of wildlife, including birds and insects. By planting and harvesting Cricket Bat Willows sustainably, local communities support both the environment and traditional crafts, ensuring the conservation of both nature and cultural heritage.

1,500 trees planted in Berwickshire

Windstorms are becoming increasingly common in the UK as a direct result of rapid climate change. The trees in this woodland were lost during Storm Arwen in 2021. They have been replaced with oak and beech trees with smaller native trees being planted around the woodland edge. These smaller trees will provide habitats for local wildlife and also direct windflow up and over the young oak and beech while they become established.

86 Trees Planted

Hazel: Corylus Avellana

The common hazel is native to Europe and western Asia and forms an important part of England’s hedgerows. We have all heard of hazelnuts, which are rich in unsaturated fats and protein, and an extremely popular ingredient in many of the world’s cuisines. Did you know that hazel trees were once seen as both magical and a symbol of fertility?

89 Trees Planted

Hawthorn: Crataegus Monogyna

Hawthorn is very much associated with the month of May, and the appearance of its bright, white flowers heralds the change from spring to summer. It is prolific in hedgerows, scrub and woodland throughout the UK and Ireland, and a single tree can grow as tall as 10m. In pagan times, hawthorn was a symbol of marriage and fertility, but in the Middle Ages, it was never brought into homes, as people believed it was a harbinger of illness and death.

389 Trees Planted

Beech: Fagus Sylvatica

If the oak is the king of British trees, then the beech is its queen. A dense canopy of leaves provides a rich habitat for all sorts of insects, its seeds are popular with mice and squirrels, and hole-nesting birds make their homes in beech trunks. Some of the UK’s tallest native trees are beeches, including one that stands at over 44m tall on the National Trust's Devil's Dyke Estate in West Sussex.

757 Trees Planted

Sessile Oak: Quercus Petraea

179 Trees Planted

Rowan: Sorbus Aucuparia

Also known as the mountain ash, rowan trees grow well at high altitudes and are commonly found in the Scottish Highlands, as well as on streets and in gardens across the UK. Many birds eat their scarlet berries in the autumn, then disperse the seeds. Rowan used to be planted next to homes to ward off the threat of witches, as red was once believed to guard against evil.