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An artist with a gallery in Harrogate has created a woodland in memory of the felled Sycamore Gap tree.

Lucy Pittaway painted an image of the famous tree with a Northern Lights backdrop after being moved by its destruction in September.

In December she vowed to plant a tree for every print sold and sought the help of a landowner to use the trees to create a public woodland. Almost 2,400 paintings have been bought so far.

The newly created Lucy Pittaway Sycamore Gap Trail near Masham will be publicly accessible and aims to bring new life to an area of the Swinton Estate devastated by larch tree disease.

Visitors to the trail will follow a pathway formed by chippings from the felled larch trees on a woodland walk which will also feature artistic installations, areas to relax and education boards.

Lucy Pittaway at the easel with her Sycamore Gap Tree painting.

Ms Pittaway, whose Harrogate gallery is on James Street, said:

“Like everyone else I was so saddened to hear about the felling of the tree, to now see this new woodland coming to life is wonderful and I’m so grateful to everyone who has helped us come this far.”

Felicity Cunliffe-Lister, owner of the Swinton Estate, answered the call for the help of a landowner and she joined Ms Pittaway in planting the first of the new saplings.

Ms Cunliffe-Lister said:

“Like many areas of the countryside we have lost so many trees from larch blight and so regenerating the area through this project is a perfect fit, I think we are appreciating more and more the importance of conservation and the positive impact that trees and the countryside have on our well-being.”

Lucy Pittaway (left) with Swinton Estate owner Felicity Cunliffe-Lister.

The first 600 saplings will be planted during April, mainly sycamore along with oak, rowan, hazel and other native trees. The estate’s forestry team will then plant hundreds more saplings over the coming months and more mature species from the autumn.

The new woodland will regenerate part of the plantation that surrounds a 200-year-old folly known as the Druid’s Temple. In recent years the area has lost many trees to the fungal disease phytophthora ramorum that has ravaged trees across Britain.

Ms Pittaway added:

“I hope this is an area that can be used for relaxation for generations to come, If it can inspire people’s interest in art and the countryside then the legacy of the Sycamore Gap tree will be a positive one.”

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29,000 trees planted in Masham to create new woodlands

Almost 30,000 trees are being planted on Swinton Estate in Masham as part of a new woodlands initiative.

Plant nursery, Johnsons Nurseries Ltd, has supplied the trees and whips – the young seedlings, to the 20,000-acre estate.

Funding for this project has come from the White Rose Forest through its Trees for Climate programme, part of the government’s Nature for Climate Fund.

The White Rose Forest is the Community Forest for North and West Yorkshire and works with landowners, businesses and communities across the region to provide support and funding for woodland creation projects that will benefit communities and the environment.

Over 30 varieties of trees were supplied for the woodlands via The DTMS Group, contracted to deliver the landscaping for the project. The varieties included Pinus sylvestris, Picea abies, Sorbus aucuparia, Quercus robur, Salix caprea, and Acer campestre.

Trees were specifically selected and sited for water and biodiversity improvements and for their many climate benefits from providing oxygen and absorbing carbon dioxide to providing resources and habitat to wildlife.

Almost 30,000 trees at the Masham Estate

Johnsons Nurseries’ marketing manager, Eleanor Richardson, said:

“We were excited to work on this project in collaboration with the Swinton Estate, The DTMS Group, and the White Rose Forest. The trees that we supplied included a range of native species, from pines to oaks, enhancing the natural beauty of the estate and contributing to improving biodiversity and water quality.”

Will Richardson, forestry advisor to the Swinton Estate, added:

“The Swinton Estate have a long-term ambition to increase tree cover by 50% over the next 20 years, creating around 350ha of new mixed woodland and wood pasture. This is driven by a desire to improve sustainability and nature conservation across the estate, sequester carbon and to produce sustainable crops of timber in years to come.

“This has been the first phase of this programme, and we are delighted with the contributions made by the White Rose Forest, DTMS as contractors and Johnsons as tree suppliers in helping us to deliver this. We very much look forward to seeing the new woodland thrive and mature over the years.”

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