Trees for Seaford – Heritage Tree Trail

In June our volunteers were again busy on the verges, maintaining the trees we planted in Westdown Road and Grosvenor Road. A few of us even managed to find enough sunshine and time to have a very pleasant picnic in the Salts afterwards! Please look out for young trees on the verges which were planted for everyone to enjoy, and do let us know if you spot any problems. If we finally get a run of dry summer weather, then any trees near you may appreciate some water when you are passing! Also in June we were delighted to welcome Keith Sacre of Barcham Trees to Seaford, with his specialist knowledge and visionary approach to tree projects. Although planting new trees is important, we also need to appreciate and protect our existing trees, and to do that we really need to know what trees we already have, and why they are important! We’ve started working on a ‘heritage tree trail’ for Seaford and Keith kindly agreed to help. On a very wet Monday morning, he met a small group of us to walk around Seaford and gave us some fantastic ideas of stories round the trees we walked past, that could be developed as part of our trail. It’s not necessarily the oldest, or rarest trees that are needed. We could use trees that highlight our history, linking in with other historical heritage trails in town that are currently being updated. We hope to use modern technology such as QR codes on the trail so that people can find out more. We might choose examples of trees to show how the aspect, soil and geography of the town, affect the choice of trees and their health and development. We can learn more about the trees that thrive here, and the ones that are threatened by disease, pest and other challenges. We would also like the

TrEES For SEaFord – trail to highlight how trees can counteract climate change. In previous projects Keith HEriTaGE TrEE TraiL has calculated how much carbon individual trees or groups of trees are absorbing. It’s easy to walk past a tree barely noticing it, but if it had a sign or plaque on it, showing the carbon absorbed, and even a financial value of this valuable asset on it, maybe everyone would appreciate it more, in the same way that blue plaques around town alert us to historical points of interest. We spotted this tree (photo right) from the peaceful oasis of Bramber garden in Crooked lane, where it’s clear to see which way the prevailing winds come, and the tree frames the lovely view of Seaford head, and the seafront at the Martello Tower. Our trail is in the early planning stages, so we are keen to hear from anyone in Seaford who has a favourite tree, or knows of a tree that has an interesting history, or is an unusual or particularly old specimen. The trees need to be in public spaces, or if in private gardens to be seen from the road. We would love to hear all about your favourite trees and the reasons they are so special to you. Please contact us on Facebook or email treesforseaford@ gmail.com.

Finally an update on our ‘Hidden spaces of Seaford’ article, do pop into Micklefield Park which is looking fantastic at the moment, with swathes of wild flower annuals, which are buzzing with bees and butterflies! If you are interested in wild flower planting, you may like to join our sister group ‘On the Verge’ #Seafordontheverge https://treesforseaford.wordpress.com/

Photos from top: Tree in Crouch Gardens; Garden near Crooked Lane; Micklefield Park.