Fundraiser to Save Rotary Wood, The Pinewoods

Sarah Gibbs is organising this fundraiser on behalf of Pinewoods Conservation Group.

Hello, my name is Sarah, AKA 'The Tree Lady'! I work with the campaign 'Save The Pinewoods, Rotary Wood. Trees NOT plastic. Say NO! to Danone!'

Rotary Wood is a designated Asset of Community Value woodland. It was planted over 19 years ago by community groups and local school children to commemorate the Rotary centenary and to tackle climate change. Our 4.25-acre woodland is a beautiful, thriving green space with public access throughout the entire area. It is well-used and well-loved by the community, supporting physical and emotional wellbeing. Rotary Wood supports a variety of flora and fauna, including protected species and local priority species. Our woodland is now at the stage for optimal carbon sequestration, supporting a sustainable future.

Our woodland is still under threat from Danone/Harrogate Spring Water (HSW) development plans. Danone/HSW intend to expand their existing single-use plastic water bottling plant into our community woodland. The plant currently produces 200 million single-use plastic bottles annually to ship across the UK and globally. The recent 2023 Intergovernmental panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Climate Change Report states the necessity to ‘HALT deforestation’ now (www.ipcc.ch). New woodland creation must take place alongside protecting and maintaining existing woodland, not as ‘mitigation’ for deforestation. The negative implications this development poses on a local and global scale are not to be ignored during the current climate emergency.

A number of legal concerns have been highlighted and we have been advised to undertake our own legal review before the planning committee that is expected to be on Tue 30th Sept. This will be undertaken by a specialist environmental legal firm at a reduced cost.

We are asking for your support to raise funds for the campaign. All money raised will contribute towards expected legal costs from the urgent review required.

Thank you for your ongoing support.

Sarah