IN William Blake's iconic poem Jerusalem, England is described as a "green and pleasant land" and many British people would still count our beautiful green countryside as a defining feature of our island.

This is particularly true in the heart of the Lake District, where we have amazing walking and cycling havens like Grizedale Forest right on our doorstep.

However, the UK as a whole needs more trees. We are one of the least wooded countries in Europe and trees and woods continue to disappear from our landscapes.

As a result of this, The Woodland Trust have begun teaming up with schools and community projects all over the UK to get planting more new trees.

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It is especially important in Cumbria to keep planting as many trees as possible because they can act as a natural defence to flooding. After the devastation caused by Storm Desmond during December 2015, everything that can be done to protect our county in the future must be done. Planting trees means that more water will be sucked up out of the ground and in to the tree roots, meaning that there will be less chance of water-logged river banks.

One school in south Cumbria has been deeply involved in gardening activities over the last few years and has teamed up with the Woodland Trust charity to plant 120 new trees as part of its community planting scheme.

Year Five pupils from Dane Ghyll Primary School teamed up with their local Woodland Trust warden Paul Littlewood to plant the trees on a warm sunny November afternoon.

The pupils, encouraged by the school's head gardener Louise Postlethwaite, chose the "wildlife" themed tree pack.

That contained an eclectic mix of tree species that would make great homes for woodland wildlife and provide people with enjoyment for generations. The children planted oak, hawthorn, rowan, blackthorn, silver birch and hazel trees.

Mr Littlewood, 64, from Hawcoat, Barrow, has been a volunteer for the Woodland Trust for 15 years now, along with his wife. He said: "It is so important to get children interested in wildlife and the environment from a young age.

"Dane Ghyll have been a shining example of an ecological ethos and have helped the environment out so much in recent years.

"My wife and I have been involved in the creation of How Tun Woods at Hawcoat and Dane Ghyll have played an incredibly active role in that too.

"When it came to planting these new trees, all the pupils collected a trowel, a stake and an individual tree. I then showed then when to dig the hole and helped them out, then they planted all the trees themselves - right around the perimeter of the school."

With tree diseases such as ash dieback (also known as Chalara dieback of ash) on the rise in the Lake District, our ecosystems are becoming increasingly vulnerable. That is why planting sessions like this are so vitally important.

Mr Littlewood said: "So many trees are affected now by diseases, we need more schools to take an interest like Dane Ghyll have, as they are the most amazing help to The Woodland Trust."

Just how important are trees for water management and flooding?

Trees and woodland can help water management, reduce localised flooding and alleviate the effects of larger floods in a variety of ways.

1.Water penetrates more deeply into the woodland soils (higher infiltration rates), leading to less surface run-off.

2.Trees, shrubs and large woody debris alongside rivers and streams and on floodplains act a a drag on flood waters, slowing down floods and increasing water storage.

3.Trees protect soil from erosion and reduce the sediment run-off, which help the passage of water in river channels, reducing the need for dredging.

4.Trees slow the speed at which rain reaches the ground, with some rain evaporating into the atmosphere - even in winter native deciduous trees intercept up to 12 per cent of rainfall.

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