THE Woodland Trust has doubled the land it owns at a Yorkshire Dales plot - and has now set its sights on a £7 million transformation.  

Bosses at the conservation charity hope to create a mosaic of habitats at Snaizeholme, near Hawes, allowing nature recovery to help combat the effects of climate change.

Home to rare golden plovers and with a red squirrel colony nearby, the new piece of land, situated in the White Rose Forest area of the Northern Forest, wraps around the head and the western flanks of the dramatic valley, including two wonderful areas of limestone pavement and the extensive peat moorland of Grove Head.

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Just a year ago the charity was successful, in its £3 m bid to buy up 550 acres at the site. It's home to a rare red squirrel colony and near to Ribblehead Viaduct, the popular Yorkshire Three Peaks walking route and long-distance trail the Pennine Way.

It now needs a further £7 m to transform this extra piece of land, which will bring its ownership to a total of 561.5 hectares (just under 1,400 acres).

Al Nash, the Woodland Trust’s estate manager for the North, said: “Snaizeholme is an incredibly unique opportunity for the Woodland Trust. Hundreds of years ago there would have been trees across the site but now there is just a handful. Creating more woodland is hugely important, but it is so much more beyond.

“The vision is to create a vibrant mosaic of native woodland, with extensive habitat restoration across peat moorland, acid grassland, limestone pavement and riverside meadows. It will become a Yorkshire beacon for the bid to tackle climate change.”

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Completing the sale of both these areas of land was only half the story for the trust. Now chiefs are hoping to restore its 250 acres of upland peatbog, plant trees to boost red squirrels' habitat and have a site free of all plastic tree protection. 

Donate to the ongoing appeal for Snaizeholme and its wildlife now, at https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/support-us/give/appeals/snaizeholme/