Hob Hey Wood Friends Group is awarded precious disease-resistant elm tree

Hob Hey Wood Friends have won a disease-resistant elm tree from The Tree Council, which will hopefully help a now rare butterfly to thrive in the wood.

In the mid 1960s, a virulent strain of Dutch elm disease arrived in the UK, killing off millions of elm trees and destroying the habitat of over 90 per cent of the country's white-letter hairstreak butterfly population.

Dutch elm disease is still killing elms today, and so the addition of this precious, disease-resistant tree will help to support Hob Hey Wood's vulnerable white-letter hairstreak population.

"Last month, Tom Blundell, who is a tree warden, made me aware of a competition run by the Tree Council to win one of 30 disease-resistant elms," said Hob Hey Wood Friends Group Chairman, Mark O'Sullivan. "He asked whether we should apply. "YES!" was my answer.

"As the name suggests, these trees are 100% resistant to Dutch elm disease," meaning that the arrival of this tree will hopefully "ensure the future of elms and white-letter hairstreaks in Frodsham's ancient woodland."

"Hopefully, our tree will thrive, grow to a majestic height of 50 feet, and produce many more disease-resistant elms in the process, which will be colonised by one of the rarest butterflies in Cheshire.

"This is quite an exciting conservation project that I am really pleased to be a part of and one tiny example of how important Hob Hey Wood is in a local and national context."

Hob Hey Wood Friends Group will receive their tree in January, and have already begun clearing a space for its new home in the wood.