A new enterprise, that is the brainchild of two Shepton Mallet businessmen, has announced plans to plant 500,000 trees over five years - across the region.

Wanderlands is the creative effort of Tim Oliver and Pat Bridgman, both of whom live in Shepton Mallet.

The initiative - formed in response to the climate crisis - focuses on enhancing biodiversity as well as tree planting.

Tim said: "The scientific rationale for promoting biodiversity, as well as planting trees, has now been well documented.

"We know that by enhancing biodiversity, we can capture even more carbon. At Wanderlands, we'll be doing this through several rewilding biodiversity projects across the county."

Wanderlands has already started work on its flagship rewilding project in Croscombe. Using a process of carefully-managed planting, the team are carefully restoring an ancient Somerset meadow back to its ecological roots.

The meadow - known locally as Croscombe Hill - has recently been revealed as an important UK heritage site with prehistoric and Romano-British archaeology that stretches across the southern Mendip Hills.

The rewilding project will therefore also protect the archaeological legacy of this piece of land. Last month the team began planting more than 3,000 trees on an adjacent site, Paradise Hill, introducing native broadleaf species including beech, oak and birch.

All planting supports each piece of land's unique habitats, and has been planted in line with the UK Forestry standard.

Information boards are now being set up in order to encourage public access and provide an educational resource for schools and the wider public.

The team's long-term goal is to plant more than 100,000 new trees annually in Somerset, over the next five years, establishing new forests, fauna and flora - before doing the same further into the UK.

Wanderlands' forestry director Oli Frost said: "Our aim is to make a substantial improvement to the environment as well as a meaningful contribution to our community.

"Wanderlands projects are also designed to educate. A growing number of people now realise how critically important trees are to our health and survival.

"Trees don't just lock away carbon - they help filter the water we drink, clean the air we breathe, and provide vital and irreplaceable habitat for our wildlife.

"Yet practices that result in global deforestation result in 1.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere each year, as 30 million acres of forests are lost annually.

"The good news is that we can help reverse this loss by creating new woodlands and protecting our natural capital."

Wanderlands says it brings a unique approach by directly managing, and in many cases owning, all their sites.

Pat said: "Globally, there's been a proliferation of tree planting organisations.

"Obviously, this is a good thing, but we've also noticed that unless sites are maintained through dedicated support, planting projects can derail.

"For us, it was a simple equation - we secure the land, we buy the trees, we commit to looking after the trees, along with promoting the land's biodiversity - and we do this on a credible, long-term basis.

"We only plant in the UK plus we offer digital tracking - meaning that people don't need to travel miles to wander on a Wanderlands site."

However, as the Wanderlands team acknowledge, planting trees is not as simple as putting saplings in the ground.

Oli said: "We need trees and woodlands that are going to be resilient to our changing climate.

"We therefore work with nurseries who are able to grow these species from UK-germinated seed - to protect Britain's biosecurity measures."

The launch of Wanderlands coincides with the pending UK Environment Bill - due for a final reading in Parliament this autumn. One of its key proposals is ambitious sustainability targets in line with the Paris Climate Accord.

This commitment will have wider implications and a mandate for larger and medium-sized UK businesses and organisations to both report on and offset their carbon footprints, and create a plan for how they might achieve carbon neutral status.

Wanderlands works in partnership with local and national businesses as well as individuals and communities.

Tim said: "We know there are a lot of businesses out there looking to do more in their sustainability efforts but are unsure where to begin or are put off by planting trees in far-off locations where it is difficult to ensure the trees are maintained.

"We therefore offer a complete UK-based solution to businesses looking to reduce and offset their carbon footprint."

Wanderlands' long-term plan is to extend to further sites across the UK, restoring and planting thousands of trees as well as protecting existing habitats and enhancing local biodiversity.

Tim said: "We can all make a difference, we just need to embrace the mantra of every little helps - one tree, one flower at a time."

Find out more at www.wanderlands.earth.