Workers across northern England have begun planting 3.5 million trees before the spring.
Three million trees alone will be planted in England's biggest woodland, Kielder Forest in Northumberland, as part of Forestry England's latest planting programme which aims to replenish tree stocks, bolster broadleaf cover and support biodiversity. Nearly 50 species will take root including 450,000 broadleaf varieties such as oak, birch and rowan.
There will also be conifers like Sitka spruce, the main crop supporting the nation's homegrown timber industry. A skilled planter can plant as many as 2,000 trees per day, with about 1,200 hectares of land scheduled for planting - around 1,700 football fields.
