Full steam ahead in Aln Valley Railway's effort to tackle climate change

The group planted 120 tree saplings from the council’s free tree giveaway to mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee and tackle climate change.

Based at Lionheart Enterprise Park, the railway line is being revived by volunteers, restoring the line between Alnwick and Alnmouth that closed in 1967.

Featuring a replica footbridge, waiting room, signal boxes and locomotive steam trains based on North Eastern Railway structures from the 1950’s and 60’s, the railway offers a unique tourist destination for the area.

Mark Hayton, Aln Valley Railway trustee, said: “We’ve planted a series of bushes and shrubs at our new halt at Greenrigg Station which is opening to the public this year.

"We use coal burning and diesel locomotives, so we want to offset our emissions in some way, and what better way than to plant a tree line that can be seen from our trains for years to come.”

The council want everyone in the county to have the opportunity to plant a tree for free over the next decade.

This year 15,000 tree saplings have been claimed by residents, community groups, schools and town and parish councils, linking up with the Queen’s Green Canopy campaign which encourages everyone to plant a tree for the Jubilee this winter.

Matt Baker, director of the council’s climate change programme, said: “This is just one of many ways we’re involving residents in helping to achieve Northumberland’s target to become carbon neutral by 2030.

"This fantastic scheme will help the county tackle the climate crisis through planting more trees, which in turn will help absorb our carbon emissions and make our county even cleaner and greener than ever before.

“Planting more trees now will help offset a lot of damage caused to our planet and I think we should be doing a lot more of this kind of thing.”

All trees have now been claimed for this year’s planting season, but the scheme will return in summer 2022. To find out more, please visit: https://nland.uk/QGC