New stretch target
Any further money raised over the initial £500 will be used to fund further work by Dr David Herling to promote and propogate resistant Elm trees.
Resistant Elm Tree Colony in Sheffield
by Paul Selby in Sheffield, England, United Kingdom
We did it
On 29th January 2017 we successfully raised £680 with 43 supporters in 28 days
We aim to plant a colony of Dutch Elm Disease resistant elm trees in a showcase experiment to aid the repopulation of the UK countryside
by Paul Selby in Sheffield, England, United Kingdom
I've been involved in trying to save a 120 year old elm tree which lives as a street tree in the Sheffield suburb of Nether Edge. Somehow this tree survived the ravages of Dutch Elm Disease, which has killed nearly all the UKs 60 million mature elm trees.
As part of my work to save the tree from Sheffield Council negligence, I have met the amazing Dr David Herling, who has spent the last 40 years working to understand Dutch Elm Disease and develop resistant elm trees. He is looking to establish experimental colonies of resistant elm trees in various locations in the UK. The aim is to understand which genotypes do best in which climatic conditions and soil types, and to then use this information to repopulate the UK countryside with what was once one of the UKs most common tree species.
Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust have teamed up with us to kindly offer up a section of Greno Woods in north Sheffield as the location for the colony.
There will clearly be costs to establish the project, with key costs being purchase of the special saplings, and the transportation of them to Sheffield. However, we have worked to minimise costs and currently believe they will be in the range of £300 to £500.
I have set the funding requirement at £500, with any spare funds raised over and above the costs we incur to be donated to the Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust.