The Northumberland Wildlife Trust has had two of its sites vandalised – St Nicholas Park in Gosforth and West Chevington near Druridge Bay in Northumberland. Both sites have seen trees being damaged, with most of the destruction taking place at West Chevington.
Multiple sessions had taken place, with the help of volunteers, to plant more than 4,500 trees for new hedgerows as part of the Biodiversity Boost project. This project was part of the National Lottery Heritage’s Species Survival Fund, in which the trust had received funding to increase biodiversity in the Druridge area.
These hedgerows would have provided resources for a multitude of species: mammals, birds, and insects. From food to shelter, to even helping bats navigate their environment, these hedgerows would have been a boon to Northumberland’s wildlife.
When volunteers showed up to continue these tree-planting sessions, they were met with a scene of destruction
When volunteers showed up to continue these tree-planting sessions, they were met with a scene of destruction. Trees, tree guards, and canes had all been smashed to pieces and strewn across the site. An estimated 200 trees had been damaged by the vandals.
This attack took place only four weeks after a similar incident at St Nicholas Park, another one of the trust’s reserves, where trees had been set on fire and information boards had been destroyed.
Helen Walsh, the Biodiversity Boost Officer at the trust, stated that:
“Our volunteers have given up days and days of free time […] in wind, rain, and even snow, therefore, to see it destroyed in a mindless act of vandalism is absolutely heartbreaking for us all.”
The hedgerow was planted using the funding from the Species Survival Fund. This project finishes at the end of February, and the repairs that are needed will be costly. It will be a race against time for the trust to fix it, and it will take away focus from other aspects of the biodiversity project.
The charity was flooded with support on social media when they made a post regarding the attacks. The incident has been logged with Northumbria police, and the team who manages West Chevington is reviewing camera footage to see if the culprits can be identified.