Mark Williams attends non-profit's Forests without Frontiers tree planting

It was a case of “Planting Trees? Suits You Sir!” in West Sussex last week, when Mark Williams - one of the stars of 90s comedy sketch show The Fast Show with its famed catchphrase - joined a tree-planting day.

As part of National Tree Week, Brighton-based non-profit Forests Without Frontiers (FWF) and partners Locate Productions brought over 70 volunteers to Wilderlands, a 60-acre rewilding project near Uckfield to plant 500 trees and learn about nature restoration, on the 28th of November. Despite being one of the most forested counties in England, Sussex’s woods are fragmented causing problems for insects, birds, and mammals. The work aims to join the dots, boosting biodiversity, helping restore nature and bringing people together for positive change.

“We’re planting a hedgerow today and the thing about hedges is that they are corridors, they provide a lot of shelter to animals like dormice. It’s a dormouse motorway!” exclaimed Mark, who lives locally and also stars in the Harry Potter films. “In the 70s a lot of hedges were ripped out for farming improvement and today we’re putting them back.”

The day began with breakfast in Wilderlands’ barn and a walk through ancient woods adjacent to the planting site, where guests learnt about how the woodlands were shaped and ongoing plans to encourage wildlife to thrive. Guided by Sussex Wildlife Trust volunteers, everyone got to work planting a mix of native species, including hazel, hawthorn, dog rose and willow.

It’s the fourth event Forests Without Frontiers has organised on the site - having planted over 180,000 in Romania where their work began. “We’ve now planted 2,000 trees at Wilderlands,” said Nicoleta Carpineau, founder of FWF. “It brings so much joy to see everyone out in nature doing something positive. It’s hard for people to protect nature if they have no connection with it, so gaining this first hand experience is really important.”

Besides planting trees, the group enjoyed a locally-sourced lunch back at the barn, prepared by Brighton company YouJuice, including produce from the Sussex Peasant. There were talks from experts like Michael Kennard, founder of the Compost Club, and Charlie Marsden, co-founder of Tree Resource and later people decamped to the Griffin Inn in Fletching for a well-earned pint and music from local folk singers Fell Duo.

Forests Without Frontiers’ work is supported by businesses and individuals who want to take positive action for the environment. “We put 1 percent on each invoice and the funds raised go towards tree planting projects and events like this,” explained Sarah Hughson from Locate Productions. “It’s a simple model.”

Among those joining the event was sustainability consultant Anna Johnson who said: “It couldn’t be more beautiful to have a day like this with people that care about nature.”

Adam Skirkowski, 21, from Brighton came to a tree-planting day as a volunteer last year and is now employed to help. “It’s amazing to come into the peace and quiet, get out of the city and engage with nature. The job has a legacy because we come back and check on these trees regularly, and that’s very rewarding to know.”

More events are planned for next spring. Sign up to Forests Without Frontiers’ newsletter to find out more. As Mark Williams said: “If you get a chance to get involved in planting trees just do it!”

Sign up to the Forests Without Frontiers mailing list to find out about further events. Forests Without Frontiers was founded in 2019 to restore and celebrate nature with the help of music and arts. Collaborating with local people and partners, we focus on tree planting, monitoring, maintenance, and community events integrated with visual and auditory storytelling. Whilst engaging people creatively, we regenerate local landscapes and inspire climate action.

https://www.forestswithoutfrontiers.orgPicture by Duncan Nicholls