Tree giveaway aims to help Devon recover from ash dieback

People are being invited to collect free trees to plant in their gardens to help Devon recover from ash dieback.

Five tree hubs will be handing out saplings at locations across the county on Saturday.

The giveaway is part of a project run by Devon Wildlife Trust to plant 250,000 new trees over five years.

Rosie Cotgreave, who is leading on the charity's Saving Devon's Treescapes project, said the impact of ash dieback was going to be "huge".

"We have an estimated 90% of ash trees due to die in the coming years and that is going to massively impact our countryside," she said.

"In Devon alone there are 1.9 million mature ash trees outside of woodlands so it's hard to imagine quite what impact it's going to have."

Ash dieback arrived in the UK in 2012 and has spread to all parts of the country and is affecting millions of ash trees.

Ms Cotgreave said free tree hubs were running at different locations "most Saturdays" in winter with parish councils and community groups distributing them.

This weekend there will be hubs in Exminster, Wembury, Kingsteignton, Bovey Tracey and Awliscombe.

Jeremy Pyne, from Exminster Green Spaces, said people would be able to collect one to five native saplings from Deepway Green between 10:30 GMT and 13:00.

Details of the other hubs can be found on Devon Wildlife Trust's website.

Ms Cotgreave said ash were the second most common trees in Devon.

"Everyone has a role to play in this replanting effort," she said.

"Ash dieback is going to affect everyone - they're literally everywhere these ash trees... by losing 90% of them, it is just going to have a massive impact, not only on our wildlife and biodiversity and the landscape generally but also on our mental health because it's those green spaces that really bring joy and happiness to us."

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