An imaginative scheme to raise funds for a brand-new 25-acre woodland at Escrick, near York, has been launched.
Three Hagges Jubilee Wood is being transformed from arable land into native woodland for the benefit of the community.
To fund this pioneering project, Rosalind Forbes Adam, the chair of Hagge Woods Trust, and her team have devised the Square Share Certificate Scheme, which enables members of the public to take a Square Share in the wood for a small donation.
Rosalind said “Once you have taken a Square Share, your name, or a name of your choice, will feature on our Square Share map of Three Hagges Jubilee Wood – both on our website and at the woodland itself.”
And the first certificate was presented to six-week old John Austin Hurrell, who had come all the way from Sydney, Australia with his mum Joanne to visit the wood.
John’s grandfather, John Atkinson, is a shepherd on the Escrick Park estate and gave the Square Share to his young grandson because he wanted him to “have a link with his roots, a piece of England and the land on which his grandfather trod.”
John Atkinson explained: “It is such a beautiful project. But for it to succeed, it needs money and that is why the Square Share Certificate Scheme is such a brilliant idea. I am proud to have taken the first square.”
- for more information about the Square Share project or to become a supporter click here