A hundred young trees have been planted along the Stover Canal thanks to a donation from a conservation group.

Restoration of the historic canal has meant much of the vegetation, undergrowth and scrub has had to be cleared.

But the Conservation Volunteers sent the Stover Canal Trust the free trees under its I Dig Trees initiative.

Paul Taper, trust deputy chairman, said: ‘Restoration of the route of the Stover Canal has inevitably meant the clearance of nearly 100 years of undergrowth and scrub.

‘The trust is now keen to mitigate the loss of vegetation and this donation of UK native varieties marks the start of our tree planting programme which will run over future years.’

Among the newly-planted species are bird cheery, field maple, common crab apple which create wildlife friendly areas.

Also donated were oaks, beechwood and silver birch which will be planted between the canal and the old railway line near Teigngrace.

Further planting will take place at Ventiford Basin after the works there are complete.

Rob Harris, management committee chairman, said: ‘The planting of 100 young trees was a mammoth task for our volunteers but fortunately it was completed successfully in just one day.

‘The trees arrived with protective sheaths and stakes and were beginning to bud.

‘All credit is due to those people helping out and many thanks to TCV and OVO Energy for the scheme.’

The trust is looking for more members whose subscriptions fund the everyday costs of running the organisation. 

Anyone wishing to get involved with the canal restoration, in any capacity, can visit the website www.stovercanal.co.uk for information and contact details.

Sponsored by OVO Energy, their Greener Energy plan customers make the I Dig Trees programme possible.

Last year, their support saw over 158,000 trees planted across the UK, improving over 500 green spaces. 

This year 248,411 trees have been delivered to community groups across the UK.