National Highways has provided Cornwall Wildlife Trust with £1.02 million to restore and recreate 15.5 hectares of woodland, orchard, grassland and heathland around Ladock to Gwills and Benhaven to Lambourne Mill, north of Truro. The Environment Agency also provided £50,000 from the Water Environment Investment Fund towards the initiative, along with £50,000 from the Shared Prosperity Fund – administered by Cornwall Council.

As part of the Green Ribs project, a total of 15,000 trees have been planted within the mid-Cornwall landscape, including species such as Scots Pine, Oak, Lime, Chestnut, Sycamore and Blackthorn near Idless Woods in the Upper Truro Catchment.

And as National Highways marks its second Nature Week, the company got together with its Cornwall Wildlife Trust, Cornwall Council and Environment Agency partners to celebrate the conclusion of the project, which will help to tackle decreasing biodiversity within the county by:

• creating and enhancing habitat areas for wildlife
• improving the quality, condition and connectivity of landscape features in Cornwall
• mitigating severance impacts of the A30 by creating stronger habitat connections, safely channelling wildlife away from the road.

Martyn Alvey, Cornwall Council’s Portfolio Holder for Environment & Climate Change, said: “It’s great to see the realisation of the Green Ribs projects, which will create vitally important habitats down the spine of Cornwall.

“Cornwall Council has declared an ecological emergency in a bid to tackle the decline of wildlife and nature, which works alongside the plan to help Cornwall become carbon neutral by 2030.

“This project showcases how responding to the ecological emergency is best served by close partnerships to ensure that the recovery of nature is prioritised alongside efforts to reduce impact on the climate.”

The completion of the ‘green ribs’ work builds on previous design and construction work within the first roads investment, particularly between Benny Mill and Boswiddle, and includes a robust after-care programme.

The first phase of the work achieved recognition from CIEEM (Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management) with a best practice award for stakeholder engagement.

Cornwall Council and Natural England jointly funded initial technical work ahead of the National Highways investment and the council has also been steering development to align with its nature recovery, climate resilience and Forest for Cornwall ambitions.

The final phase of the programme included planting of species-rich grassland and trees, along with wet meadow, pond and wet habitat restoration and boundary work.