VOLUNTEERS have planted over 900 trees in the Painswick Valley to help manage flooding naturally.

In a joint event involving Stroud District Council and the Environment Agency, 23 volunteers planted 900 hedgerow trees and 22 large traditional orchard trees, and constructed deer guards for the orchard at a farm in Painswick.

The project will help trap carbon - known as sequestration – plus provide food for pollinators and help manage flooding naturally.

Working with a landowner in the Painswick Valley, SDC’s rural sustainable urban drainage (SUDs) project officer Rosemary McCloskey had introduced natural flood management measures on farmland as part of a wider scheme to enhance and protect the watercourse, as well as slowing flows during heavy rain.

“We were able to identify a suitable site to plant cross slope hedgerow to intercept overland flow and improve infiltration, as well as selecting trees that would provide benefit for pollinators and create priority habitat for biodiversity,” said Ms McCloskey.

Every year, SDC employees may volunteer for work which benefits the community, for three days.

One of SDC’s five key priorities in its corporate delivery plan is to help minimise its carbon footprint, adapt to the changing environment and continue to improve recycling rates.

The Environment Agency’s biodiversity technical officer Carly Kimber said: “It was a really successful event and a great opportunity to work together.

"Hopefully everyone went away with some new skills and knowledge, and the project will provide benefit to the local environment for years to come.”

SDC Environment Committee chair Simon Pickering added: “This is really excellent work.

"It’s great to see the right species of trees planted in the right places.

"This project will provide a multiple ecosystem service for the planet for the next one hundred years.”

For more information on the Rural SuDS Project visit: stroud.gov.uk/environment/flooding-and-drainage/stroud-rural-sustainable-drainage-rsuds-project