LANDOWNERS on the fringes of Snowdonia National Park are to offered incentives to plant more trees.

A new grant is available to landowners who wish to plant parkland trees within the boundaries of the park.

There are currently approximately 36,400 hectares of woodland in Snowdonia National Park, which is about 17 per cent of the park’s total area. However, parkland trees are in decline for several reasons, including ageing and the lack of planting of replacement trees.

As a result, wood pasture and parkland trees are now protected in Wales under section 7 of The Environment (Wales) Act 2016.

In an attempt to reverse this decline, Snowdonia National Park Authority has joined with the Woodland Trust to provide grants to landowners who wish to establish new parkland trees in Snowdonia.

The scheme offers up to ten trees per property to landowners within the park boundaries, with a choice of oak, hawthorn, rowan, small-leaved lime or scots pine for dry land, or black poplar or oak for wetland.

The grant aid will include a payment of £40 towards the fencing of a tree to prevent stock (a fenced stock enclosure) and up to 10 trees with protected screens.

For more information or to apply for a grant, contact the Agriculture and Woodland Section on 01766 770274.

Read the full story in this Thursday’s north editions of the Cambrian News