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Dec
Women's Institute marks 110 years by planting hazel wood in Nidderdale
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Members of the Women’s Institute (WI) gathered in Nidderdale on Tuesday to plant trees for a special commemoration.
Representatives from across the organisation’s North Yorkshire West Federation marked 110 years of the WI by sponsoring 34 hazel trees in a 100-tree coppice at Bank Woods created by rewilding and conservation company Make It Wild.
Hazel Smyth, who is a member of Marton-cum-Grafton WI and chairs the regional federation, said:
The WI campaigns on a lot of different fronts and chooses a new cause each year. We look after the communities we live in, and the environment is part of those communities.
But this is also about learning. The WI was founded in Canada by a lady who found that children were dying because the milk was going off. So she found out why it was happening and then educated the farmers about it.
So part of the ethos of the WI has always been about teaching and giving women the chance to learn – and that includes learning about the environment.
Northallerton-based Make It Wild acquired its 111 acre (45 hectare) site at Bank Woods in 2017. It manages part of the site as a rewilding project but has also planted more than 9,000 trees there.
The area planted by the WI is part of a large hazel coppice with a seven-year cycle of trees. They grow for seven years and they are then cut back to provide wood for fencing and crafts, before being allowed to regrow.
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