A PEMBROKESHIRE farm is leading the way in a new nation-wide strategy to cover Wales in more woodland.

Froghall Farm near Spittal has been awarded a prestigious woodlands award at the Royal Welsh Show for doing its part in a Welsh Government initiative to increase woodland cover in Wales.

The farm won the Bronze Award in the Best Managed Woodland, 11-50 hectares category, and was not the only woodland in Pembrokeshire to do so.

The award was presented to Mrs Sarah Higgon and her two sons Ed and Laurie at an award ceremony at the Royal Welsh Show on July 24.

The forester responsible for managing the work was Alison Wheeler of Hugh Wheeldon and Co.

The majority of the area is native woodland, but there are also areas of conifer that will produce high quality spruce over a short rotation period so as to provide an income flow.

As the judges concluded: “This scheme has shown what can be achieved with a little bit of thought and good planning.”

The family have dedicated the area of woodland to Sarah’s husband and the boys’ father.

Froghall Farm also won a separate prize for the same woodland, a bronze award in the Broadleaf planting or restocking under 10 years old category.

Welsh Government’s Woodland and Trees Strategy, was launched on 26 June and aspires to increase tree cover in Wales by at least 2,000 hectares a year from 2020 to 2030.

WG hopes this will absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and also to create a more pleasant environment to live in.

Sharon Thomas, the Woodland Trust’s Woodland Outreach Manager for Wales congratulated the Higgon family on winning the accolade.

The Woodland Trust has just launched a campaign to ensure there is support to retain and plant trees in any new post-Brexit land use policy.

Anyone can support the campaign by going to the Woodland Trust Website.