Following an agreement between the Save Nether Edge Trees group and Sheffield City Council, Sheffield & Rotherham Wildlife Trust will assist the Council with the translocation of White-letter Hairstreak butterfly eggs from the pruned branches as part of a butterfly mitigation plan this Friday (23 February).
Sheffield & Rotherham Wildlife Trust, along with other interested parties, have made considerable efforts to agree a more sympathetic approach to the management of the Chelsea Road elm tree, whilst also assisting with the butterfly relocation plan in an effort to try and save the colony of this declining priority species.
The Council will carry out pruning this week and has assured that the tree is not at risk of replacement during these works and that further talks will take place over the coming weeks regarding the long term future of the tree.
Sheffield & Rotherham Wildlife Trust Chief Executive Liz Ballard said:
“We hope that this agreement on all sides will help to secure a longer term future for this important elm. We are assisting with the butterfly egg relocation from the canopy cuttings on Friday and encourage local people to support this and the agreed works. Our aim is to see the tree retained in good health for some years to come and to support the White-letter Hairstreak butterfly colony to flourish in Sheffield.”
For more information about the butterfly relocation plan for the White-letter Hairstreak butterfly and our correspondence with Sheffield City Council, please click here.