Join us tomorrow on one of our biggest ever community projects as we plant 500 trees.
The trees will be planted at the top corner of the Soccer School field near the speed camera. This is an area we are unable to use due to it’s triangular shape and uneven surface. Everyone is welcome to come and plant a tree so please help spread the word. There is also the opportunity to place a wooden stake in the ground next to your tree with your name or message on for a small donation.
The event is taking place from 10am until 3pm. Please wear suitable outdoor clothing and footwear appropriate for the conditions. If you have a spade or trowel please bring it with you, if not you can borrow one of ours.
Please watch this short video ‘How To Plant a Tree’
Stalybridge Celtic Juniors Soccer School
Mossley Rd
Ashton Under Lyne
OL6 9BY
The 500 saplings we have received have come from the #IDigTrees campaign organised by TVC (The Conservation Volunteers) and supported by OVO Energy.
Benefits of the Stalybridge Celtic Juniors Community Woodland Project:
- Community Use and Wellbeing
- Wider Reach
- Wildlife
- Drainage
- Carbon Footprint
Community Use and Wellbeing
The woodland will be open to the public with a footpath creating a woodland walk. It means local people, both connected to the club and not, can enjoy a woodland walk and all the benefits from being outdoors in a wooded area. Research shows that two or three short jaunts to woods and forests dramatically improve mental as well as physical health.
Forestry England has gathered data from a string of studies that it says shows there is strong scientific evidence that visiting a forest can improve mood and attention span, and even enhance psychological stress recovery. It says walking among trees reduces levels of cortisol, a hormone associated with stress, and claims a forest walk can boost the immune system through breathing in phytoncides, which trees emit to protect themselves from germs and insects. The Guardian ‘Woodland walks good for mind and body, studies show’ 13 May 2019
Wider Reach
Stalybridge Celtic Juniors has a fantastic reputation locally and regionally. The Community Woodland Project helps to spread the club’s reach beyond what the club does within football. The project is an opportunity to engage people who otherwise would not have been involved with or been interested in the club before.
Wildlife
Converting a grassy area into mixed woodland will attract a whole host of wildlife and improve the biodiversity of the wider area. A mix of trees and deadwood piles will attract insects, pollinators like bees and butterflies, and birds and bats. Families will be able to use the woodland for nature walks, bird spotting and ‘bug hunts’.
Drainage
Surface water at the moment runs off from the grassy area onto the football pitches. This increase of water makes the pitches wetter, more easily damaged through use when wet, and increases the likelihood of sessions being cancelled following heavy rain if the surface is unplayable. The woodland will help hold the water falling on this particular area, rather than it running down onto the playing surface, meaning the quality of the football pitches will improve, creating a better environment for junior players and less sessions being cancelled because of waterlogged pitches.
Carbon Footprint
The Soccer School uses a certain amount of power when open. The clubhouse, changing rooms and snack bar all use power and heating. Increasing the number of trees at the site will contribute towards offsetting the carbon footprint of the junior club’s operations.
Words | Liam Whitehead
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