AONB partners up for carbon offsetting project

* Walkers enjoy Moel Famau.

A sustainable adventure tour operator has partnered with the Clwydian Range & Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty on a carbon offsetting project.

Ruthin-based Adventure Tours UK has committed to plant one tree for every person that travels on one of its small group adventures or tailor-made activity holidays.

Almost two acres of land within Moel Famau Country Park has been designated for the new native woodland project.

Over the next three years the firm will assist the Clwydian Range & Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) to plant a range of native trees including Birch, Oak, Rowan, Holly, Hazel, Hawthorn, Cherry and Elder.

This new woodland at Tyn-y-Pistyll is expected to create an important habitat for a number of native wildlife species.

Claire Copeman, co-founder of Adventure Tours UK, said: “As a responsible tour operator we recognise carbon emissions are a major factor affecting climate change.

“We don’t believe carbon offsetting is a silver bullet, we must all reduce our carbon emissions if we are to halt the climate crisis we are heading toward. But we do believe tree planting to mitigate carbon emissions is a positive step to take.

“That’s why we have committed to plant one tree for every person that travels on one of our small group adventures or a tailor-made activity holiday. And because we’ve done our carbon measurements, we know one tree is far more than is needed to offset the emissions of one of our low carbon adventure holidays.”

Cllr Tony Thomas, Denbighshire County Council’s Lead Member for Housing and Communities and Chair of the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley AONB Joint Committee, said:  “We are delighted to be supporting this project along with the AONB and Adventure Tours UK. Small woodlands provide many benefits to wildlife and are an important tool in fighting climate change and this project can help to sequester up to 400 tonnes of carbon per hectare.

“As a council we have already achieved a lot, we have reduced carbon emissions from our buildings and fleet by 15 per cent since 2017, the council now only uses renewable electricity for its own buildings after switching to a renewable only energy provider and we are on course of reaching our target of planting 18,000 additional trees by 2022.”

In 2019 the council declared a climate change and ecological emergency and the council’s Climate and Ecological Change Strategy which covers the years 2021/22 – 2029/30 sets out how it aims to become Net Carbon Zero and Ecologically Positive by 2030.