Although the shortest month of the year, this February Jo Roberts, Community Engagement Officer for The Forest of Marston Vale, has been incredibly busy. The winter months are the optimum time for tree planting, and Jo has been rounding up the local community to pitch in with her tree planting efforts.
On Sunday, February 5, 2023, Forest of Marston Vale, held a Tree Planting Event at Berry Wood in Wootton led by Jo with partnership from Bedford Borough Council, and funding from Defra as part of The England’s Community Forest ‘Trees for Climate’ project.
Jo Roberts, Community Engagement Officer said “We have been working closely with the property team at Bedford Borough Council, who own the land, to get this scheme off the ground. The site sits close to the expanding village of Wootton, and will provide opportunities for local residents to enjoy this woodland right on their doorstep, as well as providing a valuable home for all sorts of flora and fauna.”
The trees planted were a mix of mainly native broadleaves, which were planted to provide a buffer around the existing Berry Wood. Once complete, there will be over 26,000 trees and shrubs in the ground (covering over 6 hectares), and in time, this will provide an excellent green space for people in the village to enjoy.
The weather was perfect for it, and around 150 local residents volunteered their time and helped plant approximately 2,500 trees across the day, with some people staying all the way from 11am to 3pm. Biodegradable tree tubes were used as part of the charities drive to make tree planting more sustainable.
This was a great opportunity to be involved in the creation of your local woodlands – something that future generations will benefit from, and a great way to make a difference in your local community.
If you have some land you’d like to see planted with trees or have contacts who might be interested, do get in touch with the Trees for Climate team at treesforclimate@marstonvale.org
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