Severn Treescapes Project overview
The Severn Treescapes project will create a 60-mile N-S corridor (1728km2) across 3 counties. It will test woodland creation and increasing connectivity at scale across productive landscapes. The area currently covers Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire from the Lower Wye Valley through the Forest of Dean, Leadon Vale, Woolhope Dome and Malvern Hills, to the Wyre Forest. Severn Treescapes connects nationally important landscapes, providing enhanced ecological resilience, multiple ecosystem services and engaging urban and rural communities. It aims to increase tree connectivity across higher grade agricultural areas through hedgerows, woodland belts, traditional orchards, wood pasture, silvopasture, silvoarable and agroforestry, and incorporate wetland features into habitat mosaics, where appropriate, enhancing water quality, recharge, flood alleviation and reducing soil erosion. Large-scale broadleaved woodland creation is likely to be on the lower grade marginal land and steeper slopes.
This role will cover the county of Herefordshire. Predominately working in the east of the county, the project area covers the fantastic landscapes of the Lower Wye Valley, Woolhope Dome and the Malvern Hills within Herefordshire and includes the city of Hereford. Some working across borders into Worcestershire and Gloucestershire may be required in order to support the other Woodland Advisors, but this would not be significant.
The Dead Wood Society
An important strand of our Severn Treescapes work is our focus on deadwood, traditional orchards and veteran trees in the landscape. Three days per week of this role will be delivering our Dead Wood Society project, involving liaising with landholders to manage, expand and create traditional orchards in Herefordshire (through ELM actions where possible, but through other funding sources as well), promoting and protecting important habitats and key saproxylic species. The Deadwood Society will be very much a team effort, and you will be liaising closely with the other advisors and the Engagement and Comms Coordinator to deliver advice and events around these themes.
