ABOVE: 100% of the airfield’s resident pilots contributed financially to the tree-planting scheme
East Sussex’s Deanland Airfield is celebrating the ongoing success of its tree-planting initiative one year on, with the ‘vast majority’ of some 1,425 native trees and 350 shrubs planted last December said to be thriving.
Part of the MOREwoods project (a Woodland Trust-funded initiative), a diverse range of trees suited to the area were planted at the airfield: including oak, scots pine, field maple, sweet chestnut, walnut, hornbeam, wild cherry, holly, blackthorn and hawthorn. 12 months later, and despite some challenges (including deer and mice), the airfield’s owners are thrilled about the trees’ progress – believing their approach could inspire others within the flying community to pursue a similar strategy.
Noting that “the importance of environmental responsibility within the aviation community has never been more apparent and urgent,” a spokesperson for the airfield nevertheless added that “land owners are uniquely positioned to foster positive environmental change”. Deanland airfield’s owners hope that their scheme will encourage others to pursue a similar avenue of environmental stewardship, “thereby lessening light aviation’s impact on our precious environment and contributing to a greener future for light aviation”.
Although Deanland has been offsetting carbon produced by resident aircraft since 2021 (with pilots making an annual contribution proportionate to hours flown), the airfield owners felt that the most impactful way of reducing the airfield’s carbon footprint would be to plant trees on the site itself – with airfield residents ‘overwhelmingly supportive’ of the project.
As well as advising on the trees themselves, the Woodland Trust also incorporated additional features in their planting, such as including species to provide visual and noise shielding as requested by the aircraft owners.
IMAGE: DEANLAND AIRFIELD
