Posted on: 20th March 2024

On Saturday 16th March three members of the Sustainability Society (University of Bradford) spent the morning working in the Denso woodland, Baildon. All the remaining plastic tubes were removed from the trees which are now large enough to survive deer nibbling their bark. The tubes will be collected for recycling.

Sharmin, Rotary Fellow from Bangladesh, Nahla (Syrian) and Oluchi (Nigerian) were delighted to take part in this work and enjoyed being in the ‘countryside’ with the River Aire flowing by. They worked hard in a very difficult thorny situation where we had to hack brambles in order to reach some of the trees and then carry the tubes to the far end of the field for collection. There was interest in the types of trees planted and also what soils. They were fascinated by the bird life which was all around us on a beautiful Spring morning. They loved the river, but knew one couldn’t drink the water. It was a joy to see and hear such water with its bird life. We were also told by a walker that barn owls now frequent the stretch of woodland which was planted in 2019. That indicates the presence of mice and voles.

This connection with the university comes through my Fairtrade links and the university is now a Fairtrade university. The Sustainability Society is totally supportive of Fairtrade as a movement working for trade justice which enables sustainable production of our foods and treats.