A team of volunteers from East Midlands Airport has planted 1,400 baby trees to form a hedgerow alongside part of the Airport Trail.
The airport’s managing director Steve Griffiths and other members of the senior leadership team joined around 30 more members of staff to create a new 400m-long hedge next to a section of path that was upgraded with stone by volunteers earlier this year.
Both projects form part of wider Airport Trail upgrades supported with funding from the EMA Community Fund as part of the airport’s 60th anniversary celebrations. As well as improving the surface of a section on the northern perimeter of the airport, new waymarking signs, gateway signs and information boards have been installed ahead of the hedge planting.
The trees planted between the trail and fields south of Castle Donington are a mix of native hedging including hawthorn, hazel, dog rose, elder, spindle, wild privet, buckthorn, holly and common dogwood. This mix of hedgerow species was chosen to help support habitat connectivity and species recovery in the area.
The trail is a walking route of just over six miles, passing by the East Midlands Aeropark, Castle Donington, a picnic area close to the eastern end of the runway and alongside the A453 between the airport and Diseworth. Offering views over local countryside as well as the airfield, it is popular with dog walkers as well as plane spotters.
Community Engagement Manager at East Midlands Airport Colleen Hempson said: “It was great that a team of volunteers, including some of our senior managers, braved the cold weather to come and restore a section of hedgerow alongside the Airport Trail.
“We’ve used our 60th anniversary year to continue our longstanding work to support local communities with improvement projects and with thousands of hours of voluntary time showing that we care about our neighbours.
“This new hedgerow will benefit the wildlife in that section of the trail as well as the people who come to visit and walk the trail.”
