TWO young people have been helping to transform native broadleaf cover in the Yorkshire Dales thanks to Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust’s Together for Trees project.

Woodland trainees Zoe Bullivant and Sam Marshall have gained a wealth of experience working with a professional contractor to further their careers in the environmental sector.

They have learned skills such as fencing, walling, invasive species control, willow spiling and peatland restoration as well as gaining experience in mapping and surveying work and the design, creation and management of woodlands.

Both have now progressed to full time employment within the Environmental sector.

Sam, 23, said: “YDMT offered a great opportunity to gain the practical skills I needed to follow a career in wildlife conservation. I was looking for a practical conservation traineeship to enhance my career prospects and the range of work allowed me to try many different roles which I wouldn’t have otherwise tried.

“I am now working as woodland officer for the Wyre Rivers Trust. It looks at combining woodland planting in riparian habitat with health walks, volunteer days and community activities including water sampling and invertebrate surveying and leaky dam building. I am very grateful for the skills I have learnt, and my new job is exactly what I hoped to get from my experience as a woodland trainee.”

Zoe, 24, added: “Before becoming a YDMT trainee, I was struggling to find paid environmental employment. Now I am a stakeholder dialogue coordinator. I learnt so much as a trainee and I’m really happy I am able to undertake environmental work.”

Together for Trees is funded by the Government's Green Recovery Challenge Fund. The fund was developed by Defra and its Arm's-Length Bodies. It is being delivered by The National Lottery Heritage Fund in partnership with Natural England, the Environment Agency and Forestry Commission.

The project aims to create 26 hectares of new native woodland across the Dales and Nidderdale, restore 1km of hedgerow and plant trees to help mitigate the impact of ash dieback.

It also sees YDMT work with communities in Sedbergh, Settle, Swaledale and Malham to identify areas to create new community woodlands - bringing landowners and volunteers together to help plant and maintain the woodlands.

Carol Douglas, YDMT’s Woodland Officer said: “One of the aims of Together for Trees is to help young people access the environmental sector by providing opportunities to gain experience and receive training that gives them skills to secure employment."