ONE of the more heartening pieces of information to emerge in the last few days was the news that Alderney’s Wildlife Trust has gained a major local conservation award.

The Insurance Corporation’s winners more usually come from Guernsey, as the bigger island, and because there are often more resources available to get such schemes off the ground.

Alderney’s success, however, is because its plan is so audacious.

In an island of little more than 2,000 acres, the intention is to selectively plant more than 40 of them with native tree species to create a wildlife and amenity site that also uses some of the German fortifications there as learning centres.

As the scheme gets under way, the expectation is that 16,000 trees will be planted and this should lead to isolated stands of trees becoming linked to the main mass and benefiting island biodiversity and its spread.

A small amount of government cash is supplemented by the trust and its team of volunteers, leading the Insurance Corporation’s chairman to comment: ‘the ambition and drive… amazed us. The scale is exceptional…’

Given that he has seen many schemes over the decades, it was high praise and reflective of the success the island as a whole has had in putting wildlife concerns to the fore and – through niche tourism – making money out of them.

More than 10 years ago, when millennium projects were being discussed, one suggestion was reintroducing endangered red squirrels to Guernsey. It foundered, in part because there was no evidence they were ever here and because the level of tree cover is insufficient – a problem Jersey is battling with to maintain its population introduced in 1885.

What about, it was then suggested in Guernsey, having a millennium project that aimed to create woodland sufficient to maintain a population of reds? Like so much else, however, it was put in the ‘too difficult’ drawer no matter how attractive an ambition.

Alderney, however, has decided to pursue its vision and deserves every success – not least because of the way its volunteers provide what the States of Alderney cannot – and because it has the courage to aim high.