Record trees haul buried in dunes

Christmas Trees are planted in the sand dunes at St Annes by volunteers and staff from Fylde council and Lancs Wildlife Trust

More than 30 volunteers joined staff from Fylde Council and the Lancashire Wildlife Trust in burying around 2,000 recycled trees to create new dunes and act as a barrier against the forces of nature.

Geoff Willetts, Fylde Council’s senior coast and countryside officer, said: “This work has been going for about five years now and it is the biggest number of trees we have ever had.

“The work this week started in ideal conditions and we were delighted with the number of volunteers who turned up.”

Charlie Kay hard at work planting Christmas trees are planted in the sand dunes

Members of St Annes In Bloom collected some 500 trees from homes in the town, while hundreds more were deposited by householders at drop-off points specially set up by Fylde Council all over the borough.

Geoff said the word about the recycling scheme had also spread to neighbouring areas and this year’s trees haul included some from Blackpool and Preston.

Amy Pennington, Lancashire Wildlife Trust’s Fylde Sand Dunes Project Officer, said: “It’s a great way to encourage local people to take ownership for their coastline and help to sustain it for future generations.”