4 minute read
If you go down to the woods today…
Anna Robertson, who was acting chair of Jersey Trees for Life for two years, is now their project co-ordinator. Caroline Spencer took a stroll with her around Adelina Wood
Adelina Wood, tucked away just off a major artery into St Helier, is one of the sites managed by Jersey Trees for Life. One day, it will be a mature woodland. At the moment, it is relatively young, fresh and very green, not least because grasses and buttercups are flourishing thanks to No Mow May. Anna Robertson, ambling along the footpath with her British bulldog Bosco, explained that she joined the committee of the charity six years ago and has been vice-chair for the last two. The charity likes to have an architect on the committee in order to help with planning matters. Anna, a chartered architect who ran her own business for eight years, has specialised in environmental architecture, so she has found the perfect fit. ‘I’ve always had an affinity for the environment and I’ve always loved trees,’ she said. ‘I was constantly climbing them as a child!’
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She has been at the helm at a challenging time, thanks to Covid.
‘For now, we are focusing on our sites at Val de la Mare and Adelina Wood and making them the best they can be, carrying out maintenance that we couldn’t do last year and putting up new signage,’ she said.
‘Then we want to get more people interacting with them. For example, we have plans for more child-friendly routes through Val de la Mare.’
As mother to Evelyn (4) and Autumn (2), she knows how fun and magical a woodland walk can be for children.
‘My children love the outdoors, getting muddy and getting in a tree,’ said Anna, who is married to Charles. ‘We love exploring the Australasian Zone at Val de la Mare. There are some big steps at the end, we call them the Giant Steps, and a really old oak tree they love climbing on, and then we go up to the Pine Zone and its little winding paths.’
The charity is also planning guided walks with Blue Badge guide Roger Noel who now sits on their committee.
And they have signed up to the 12 Parish Boundary Challenge, which invites Islanders to do a sponsored walk, run or cycle around each parish boundary. Each route has a different charity associated with it, and Jersey Trees for Life have chosen the St Peter border, which takes them through Val de la Mare.
One thing the charity is keen to do is campaign to get the Government of Jersey to change the tree protection laws.
‘We need new tree protection laws so we can make sure that no more healthy trees get cut down,’ Anna said. ‘We can use the UK tree protection law as a starting point, and then we need to make it more appropriate for Jersey.
‘There are always reasons why you can cut down a tree, such as if it is dangerous or diseased, but it has to be considered and justified. The UK law is very good because it protects the older trees and it means that you can’t prune them severely and you can’t cut them down without permission. That should happen as a default here, that the tree should stay.’ Anna, who also sits on the committee of the Association of Jersey Architects, has now been appointed as project coordinator for Jersey Trees for Life. This means she will be involved in projects like the hedge rejuvenation scheme in conjunction with Jersey Dairy and Sangan Conservation.
All the farms associated with Jersey Dairy have signed up to the LEAF [Linking Environment and Farming] scheme, to protect and enhance biodiversity on their land. ‘It’s so important to help people understand that sometimes it looks like we have cut a tree but we’re doing it to rejuvenate the hedge, to create a better habitat,’ Anna said. ‘Cutting hedgerows low to the ground might initially look shocking but within a year it will be sprouting again and within two years it creates a better habitat for our indigenous animals.’
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Another project is the tiny forest scheme, using a piece of land the size of a tennis court. The first has gone in at Hautlieu and more are planned; they are particularly good for schools to get involved with.
‘I’ve never seen our sites so busy as during lockdown,’ Anna said. ‘We know that woodlands enhance our environment and make us feel calmer. Post-lockdown it’s all about getting outside and protecting these spaces. There’s a real opportunity to grasp people’s interest in the natural environment.’
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