Hundreds of trees planted beside Suffolk rivers

Hundreds of trees have been planted alongside the River Gipping and its tributaries by the Environment Agency and the Suffolk Wildlife Trust.

Sections of river were chosen which had little existing tree cover and which would benefit from the increased shading the trees will provide. The shading will help mitigate the effects of climate change by helping to keep the river cool in summer, which has big benefits for fish and invertebrate populations.

It is also expected that shading will help control vigorous plant growth within the river channels at some locations - reducing the need to carry out costly clearance work in the future.

In time the tree roots will help to stabilise the river banks leading to less sediment entering the water which will help improve water quality. The roots will also provide vital habitats for fish as will low hanging branches trailing into the watercourse.

It's hoped that the trees will also offer valuable habitat for breeding birds and for bats, otters and invertebrates as well as enhancing the landscape quality of the Gipping valley.