Final plea for volunteers to take part in Great Hedge Planting Days weekend at Harrogate's Long Lands Common

The Great Hedge Planting will take place in Harrogate across the weekend of December 17-18 at Long Lands Common. (Picture Gerard Binks)

The team behind, perhaps, the most successful community appeal in Harrogate in recent years are putting out a final call for any members who wish to take part in this weekend's Great Hedge Planting sessions.

It’s the first first large scale planting day since the success of the £350,000 community fundraising appeal in 2020 and the first practical step towards creating a new wildlife haven and public green space on 30 acres of greenbelt land between Harrogate and Knaresborough.

The Great Hedge Planting will take place this weekend from December 17-18 with each day starting at 10am and running to 3.30pm.

As well as hedge species, volunteers will also be planting lime trees along the same border area of Long Lands Common near Nidd Gorge.

People can drop in and out as they please and families are welcome.

By the end of the weekend, as much as 400 metres of double-layered hedges will have been planted.

The ultimate aim of Long Lands Common is to create Harrogate's first community-owned woodland.

Tree and bush planting tools, and professional instruction, will be provided - but people are advised to make sure to wear suitable gear for a December day in a field.

Participants are invited to free to bring food and drinks in order to stop for a lunch break or family picnic.

Please note Long Lands Common does not currently have toilet facilities on site.

Anyone who requires mobility access to the site, should contact @longlandscommon.org

For more information, visit www.longlandscommon.org/