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Now, if you've got nothing to do today and you live in the Middleton area, or can get there easily, why not flex your muscles and get digging. That's the message from the environmental group called the Green Partnership, which is organising a special tree-planting event near the village today.

And there are an awful lot of trees to be planted. The Green Partnership is planning to plant a total of seven to eight thousand over the next few weeks, and they're hoping to plant around two thousand five hundred of these today. What's more, they're looking for volunteers to come along and help. No experience is necessary ? there will be experts on hand to direct operations, and equipment will be provided. Although, if you've got a spade, please do bring it along as there may not be quite enough to go round if a lot of people turn up and want to start digging at the same time.

But, you're probably asking yourself, what's the point of planting all these trees? Well, surprisingly, this area is actually the least wooded part of England, according to a recent survey, and so the government has made money available for the project. Around 25 similar sites have been officially identified in the region and volunteers will be needed to help with a number of these in the weeks to come.

As well as conserving the natural environment, it is hoped to make it easier for people from urban areas, who may not have gardens or parks nearby, to spend their free time in the countryside. Although in future old quarries and industrial sites will be used, this land was previously used for farming, so it's not open to visitors at the moment. The trees themselves will, of course, take a long time to grow, up to eighty years in some cases, and when they're small, they'll be protected by fences as farm animals continue to graze nearby. But the site is being planned so that there will eventually be footpaths between the trees and people will be able to walk through and watch the growing woodland.

Today, everyone is welcome to come along any time between 9 and 3 o'clock. The site lies on the western edge of the village of Middleton and those who can, are asked to walk there, as parking will not be available along the road to the west, which gets quite busy. People coming from further afield should park in the village and then get to the site on foot. A large yellow notice will indicate the site entrance and special yellow arrow signs from the village centre will lead you to it. The notice will include further information about the day's programme.

The site will be quite muddy and so boots are probably a better idea than trainers if you're doing the digging, although you'll need something to change into afterwards. Although you can expect to get quite warm, the site is quite exposed and so it's a good idea to wrap up well if you're watching and, of course, gloves will be essential to protect your hands if you are actually digging. So, it could be a really nice day out for all the family and ...(fade)

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