In June 2012, a month’s worth of rain fell in just 24 hours over parts of mid Wales.
The deluge turned roads into lakes.
In the small village of Tal-y-bont, Ceredigion, 27 homes were flooded as the rivers Leri and Ceulan burst their banks.
After that devastating day, a group of villagers came together with an idea – they would plant trees, thousands of them, to try to reduce the risk of flooding in the future.
Trees and woods play a “vital” role in reducing flooding by slowing down the flow of rainwater, absorbing rainwater and reducing erosion, according to the Woodland Trust.
“We started off with the aim to plant 2,000 trees in the first winter,” said Linda Denton, who coordinates the group of volunteers who call themselves the Tal-y-bont Treeplanters.
“And we actually managed about eight [thousand]. We’ve gradually increased it from there. So we’ve now done five winters and 50,000 trees.”