10000 Children - 10000 Trees - For You

Hello again, dear supporters.

I wasn't sure we would have much 'new' to report as we always think winter is relatively quiet after the children's tree planting in November - but how wrong could I have been!

In December...

Helped by regular volunteers, young people and families, we completed planting the perimeter hedge alongside the Dragon Garden and planted a very special Beech tree to mark the wonderful Dr Jane Goodall's 90th birthday year. We were honoured to be joined at this important tree planting by UK Schools' and Education Outreach Officer for JGI Roots&Shoots, Jasmina Georgovska. After planting the Tree for Jane and completing the essential end-of-year tasks so that we could put the wood to bed for the holidays, we marked the end of another year and thanked our volunteers with festive celebrations.

In January...

We began the task of cutting back overhanging branches to widen pathways and improve access. We also began the annual beating up programme and completed checking on the disease-resistant Elms that the children planted in late 2019, replacing the stakes and guards with taller versions to accommodate the trees' growth over the past 5 years.

In February and March...

A late winter planting of Dog Roses, Crab Apple, Elm and Elder trees was undertaken by regular volunteers, business workplace teams and young people training as Plant-for-the-Planet Ambassadors (see link below for the News Report on this). Over the school break, we welcomed storyteller Amanda Kane-Smith, supported by our brilliant Youth Team Leaders Matt and Natalia, to take children and young people on a journey from Winter into Spring through stories, crafts and games (more photos and information in link below).

Teams of art students from Andover College joined us at our regular Monday work sessions to take on seasonal conservation tasks as well as spending time in reflection, sketching, collecting and taking photographs in preparation for creating work for an exhibition as part of their A-Level course work. 

Other work undertaken by the team as part of the ongoing care of the wood included:

• repairing the deer fence
• trimming the hazel hedge around the community meeting space and
• clearing the pond of most of the bulrushes (they spread and grow very quickly)

All of these actions ensure the health of the wood as a home for increasing numbers of species of flora and fauna - a perfect space for children and young people to learn about the natural world and the positive impacts of their tree planting. To better appreciate the improving biodiversity, we hope you will read the 2024 Nature in Harmony report, written by our outgoing intern Katie, based on the date she patiently and painstakingly collected April to September last year - link below 

The move from winter into spring is perfectly summed up in the team's most recent achievements, transplanting all the surplus tree whips from the wood to our tree and wildflower nursery to await next winter's tree planting and bringing all the potted-up wildflowers, raised from seed last year, from the nursery to be planted in the new raised bed in the wood. Perfect!

This year's funding focus...

As always, we thank you for your generous support, without which much of the above could not have happened. You have helped to fund the purchase of tools, equipment, trees and flowers; you have helped to provide inspirational nature activities for young people, helping to keep them connected to 'their' wood.

This year, our work will focus on:

• providing nature activities for children and young people outside of school time
• providing the means for schools to come to the wood for educational experiences during school hours
• first-stage planning for a conference that will share our work with others

Your continued support is truly valued and, should you be considering making a donation in the near future, please remember that all donations up to $50 wil lbe matched by GlobalGiving @50% for 4 days THIS WEEK, 25th-28th March.

Links:

• Nature in Harmony 2024 - Intern Katie's Biodiversity Report
• Fun in the Wood with Local Storyteller and Youth Team Leaders
• Plant-for-the-Planet Academy held in wood for first time