Tata Steel apprentices lend helping hand at Dee Park Community Woodland

Tata Steel apprentices have been lending a helping hand over at Dee Park Community Woodland.

Last week they spent time clearing the woodland ready for a new outdoor learning area for local schools.

This week the apprentices supported Flintshire County Rangers helping to plant trees as part of the Dee Park Community Woodland.

Care & Repair Cymru (North East Wales) has been awarded National Lottery funding to support the community project, which is located across the River Dee from Shotton steel works.

Between now and July 2022 the project will create a community woodland on 11.10 hectares of land at Dee Park adjoining the Dee Estuary and North Wales Coastal Path, planting 5500 young trees including 500m of hedgerow which will link into and restore the existing mature woodland.

The project aims to enhance the biodiversity of the site, creating new areas of woodland and hedgerow, and restoring some areas of mature woodland.

It will create wildlife corridors, create wildflower meadows, and, by the creation of a pathway around the site, offer an accessible and welcoming green space for recreation and education.

As part of the 125th-anniversary celebrations, Shotton Works helped restore and will continue to help maintain the John Summers’ Garden as part of the Park Life project.

Last summer, Tata Steel volunteers spent weekends and evenings helping to create a garden, revamp the summer house, and build and plant up a rockery area for the community to enjoy.

A spokesperson for Dee Park Community Woodland said: “A big thank you to the Tata apprentices for all their hard work this week.”

“They were a real credit to Tata and their local community.”

“In total they volunteered 93.5 hours to prep our outdoor learning area ready for forest school activities once it is fenced off!”

“This week they helped us to rake up leaf litter, transport leaf litter in wheelbarrows, cut up brash with loppers and bow saws and drag cut brash into piles ready for burning.

“We are looking forward to doing more work with the Tata Apprentices in the future! ”