ONE of the largest surviving remnants of a mediaeval royal hunting forest received a 21st century shot in the arm this week when thousands of new trees were planted.

Land adjoining Ravensroost Wood near Minety, which was once part of Braydon Forest that covered much of North Wiltshire, was the scene of mass exertion by around 100 office workers.

Some 3,000 oak, blackthorn and hazel saplings were planted on land owned by the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust (WWT) – creating a new forest next to the existing older one.

Staff from the Swindon-based Nationwide Building Society temporarily abandoned their computers to apply a little elbow grease when they planted the saplings. They started yesterday and expect to finish tomorrow.

The project follows a pledge by the company, whose headquarters are in Swindon’s Old Town, to plant one tree for every current and future employee – that’s 17,000 with the potential for 3,000 more each year.

They chose land adjoining 239 acre Ravensroost Wood, which was acquired by the Devizes based trust in 1987, as the first recipient of the marathon tree plant.

The company has pledged to plant more trees at Ravensroost – one of the most important wildlife havens in the Malmesbury area - as well as create other new forests around the country.

The WWT’s reserves manager Neil Pullen said: “We are delighted with Nationwide’s commitment to plant this tremendous number of trees. Creating and maintaining local woodlands will benefit the environment as well as local communities close by.”

WWT chief executive Dr Gary Mantle and Nationwide’s chief executive Graham Beale helped plant the first batch of trees on Monday afternoon.

Home to a huge range of trees, flowers, and birds, Ravensroost is also site of special scientific interest that is managed with financial assistance from the Hills Group.

Mr Beale said: “The creation of woodlands across the country not only delivers an environmental benefit but also provides areas for our members, employees and communities to enjoy for generations to come.“

Nationwide’s head of citizenship Stephen Uden added: “We’ve pledged to create woodlands to reduce our environmental impact and provide lasting community benefit.

“As the trees grow, they will provide natural sanctuaries to be enjoyed by generations to come and contribute to our wider carbon neutral programme.”