BURNLEY FC are continuing to pursue an initiative that hopes to see over 2,000 new trees planted in East Lancashire while allowing participants to spend time outdoors during the lockdown period.

The club had launched the Evergreen initiative, which saw Burnley FC purchase new trees for every third replica kit sold to then be planted by supporters and community groups, earlier this year.

Supporters began planting sapling trees in Pendle’s Whitehough Outdoor Centre in March and with the onset of coronavirus, the club hopes that continuing to do so, while abiding by social distancing regulations, will be beneficial to supporters physical and mental health.

Whitehough Outdoor Centre Manager, Sara Parsons said: “We were quite overwhelmed with the success of the Evergreen project in terms of the number of trees that were funded, so put out a call out for help with planting.”

She added: “Planting the trees at Whitehough created an opportunity for new groups to engage with the site in different ways and to begin to involve volunteers in practical conservation tasks.

“With 22-acres of land to manage there is never a shortage of jobs to be done and we hope that we can continue to develop these partnerships in the future, when safe to do so.”

The scheme has involved the club’s official charity Burnley FC in the Community along with pupils from the Rose School secondary in Burnley, the Kemple View mental health service and several local businesses.

Research has shown spending time outdoors can reduce anxiety and stress levels and can lead to improved moods, all of which has been vital to maintaining morale during the current crisis.

Organisers hope that the scheme will also prove beneficial to local wildlife, creating food and shelter for birds and small mammals.

Whitehough Outdoor Centre will be sharing images provided by volunteers of newly planted trees on their Twitter and Facebook pages.