11 minute read
AVELAND TREE NURSERY
Heritage oaks for the Queen’s jubilee
Aveland Trees is a local tree nursery certified by the Woodland Trust. Kate met owner Hugh Dorrington to discover what he’s doing for the QGC
ON THE OUTSKIRTS of Dunsby, a village north of Bourne, Hugh Dorrington and his son Joe run a specialist nursery growing native trees and shrubs for woodland and hedgerow planting schemes throughout the East Midlands. His customers are typically landowners and farmers who want to create broadleaved woodlands of oak, ash, elm, birch, lime and other native trees. The nursery also sells Heritage Oak saplings to the public grown from acorns collected from historically significant oak woods and individual trees.
I asked Hugh why the Woodland Trust chose his nursery as a preferred supplier.
‘We collect all our seed from local sources and the Woodland Trust like that. We’re one of only a few tree nurseries that collect their own seed from woods and hedgerows that we’ve often planted ourselves. Other seed is collected from the local countryside having got permission from the landowners. We grow the saplings here on the nursery and then sell them on for various planting schemes.
‘This way we all know what we’re getting, as the plants are so local and we’re able to locate disease resistant specimens. We’ve succeeded in growing ash that isn’t susceptible to ash dieback disease and elms resistant to Dutch elm disease. We grow about 150,000 plants per year.
‘For the Queen’s Green Canopy we are supplying oaks grown from acorns from the Bowthorpe oak near Bourne which is the oldest and largest girthed oak in Britain. We collected about 4,000 acorns in September 2020 and grew them over 2021. We potted them into a non-peat based compost made from coir in spring 2022. They will be ready to sell in late summer/autumn 2022. You can buy them through our website www.heritageoaks.co.uk. People can collect the oaks directly from Aveland Trees or we’ll send them out in the post. If you are visiting the Bowthorpe Oak you can also buy them there.’
Hugh showed me around the nursery pointing out the trays of young saplings and the sand pits with rows of small trees ready to line out in the fields. t s quite back breaking work, but it’s very satisfying,’ he told me. ‘Trees naturally adapt to bad weather so we don’t worry about them as we line them out in the field for growing on. t s us on the tractor and the planting machine that need to worry about the wind and rain!’
He showed me plants collected from seed from the Burghley estate. ‘These have a direct lineage to oaks planted by Capability Brown and William Cecil. We’ve also got oak
trees grown from acorns from the legendary Sherwood Forest, home of Robin Hood and Maid Marion. This year we intend to collect acorns from New Forest oaks that were planted in Elizabethan times to provide timber for warships like the Marie Rose. We’re also invited to collect acorns from local estates so that they can plant their own oak trees back on their estate.’
I wondered if more and more people are planting hedgerows and woodlands to help with the climate crisis and for the environment and Hugh agreed. Definitely. And the government is encouraging it by offering tree planting grants to reach their target of 30,000 hectares of new woodland each year.’
Hugh is just the person to approach for advice on planting woodlands and hedgerows. He graduated with an ecology degree but felt he couldn’t get a career in ecology and wildlife, which was his passion, so in his final year he studied forestry and then went to work for the Forestry Commission.
‘I wanted to be my own boss but the only way to do that in forestry was to start a tree nursery. The nursery’s been going over 40 years, since . riginally, was growing the trees in poly tunnels in the village, then I moved to this five acre site in 200 and we re e panding a bit more now as demand for trees is so high.’
Hugh walked me through Nursery Wood which he planted in 200 . e spends time in the autumn and winter managing the woodland by selecting trees for thinning, coppicing and pollarding. This lets light into the wood which encourages the understory (the underlying vegetation . All the cut material is left in the wood to provide wildlife habitat and to build up the wood’s carbon reserves. Large logs from fallen hedgerow trees are also dragged into the wood to create the all important dead wood habitat. n spring and summer the woodland owers are growing and birds are nesting, so management work stops. This is the time to enjoy a quiet walk through the wood. It is also the time for rather noisier children’s Easter egg hunts and barbecues with family and friends. It’s a labour of love and also an ideal site to show landowners what a woodland can become over time. Hugh and his team don’t just grow the trees, they plan and plant woodlands for landowners too.
I had to know what his favourite tree is but I have to admit it was one I’d never heard of. ‘It’s a wild service tree which is a native tree found in a lot of ancient woodlands around this area reaching into Leicestershire and orthants. t s a very attractive tree which owers in May followed by berries and wonderful scarlet autumn leaves; it has everything, and you usually only see one or two in a woodland. You often only notice them when you see a carpet of scarlet leaves on the woodland oor in ctober.
And the best hedgerow plant Again there was no hesitation. ‘It has to be hawthorn. You can trim it once a year to make a dense, stock proof hedge. r you can let it grow into a small tree. Then it will be full of blossom in May and later the red berries will feed birds throughout the Winter.’
For more information visit www.avelandtrees.co.uk and to reserve a Bowthorpe oak visit www.heritageoaks.co.uk or
www.bowthorpeparkfarm.co.uk
Walk on the Wild Side
One village takes their Jubilee celebration outdoors. Sue Peet fi nds out more
COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE UK are busy with final preparations for the ueen s latinum Jubilee celebration. ut as the am ars are washed, cake recipes pored over and the bunting retrieved from the back of a dusty cupboard, one village on the Leicestershire and utland border is also preparing something a little different.
As well as community events over the Jubilee weekend itself beacon lighting, a street party and scarecrow competition residents of Great aston are planning a further celebration later in the month that will be as much about trees, wildlife habitats and pollinator plants as it will be about cake sales or tombola prizes. Think traditional village fete with an environmental twist.
The Walk on the Wild Side Celebration Day, which will take place on Sunday 2 June, is the culmination of a 0 month wildlife pro ect initiated by two local residents, Teresa Chapman and ob Mitchell. The idea came about as a way of encouraging people to connect with local outdoor spaces and engage in a conversation about making the changes needed to support wildlife and benefit the environment. And where better to start than on your own doorstep
Great aston is situated within the footprint of the ancient ockingham orest. owever, like much of rural ritain, the area surrounding the village is now predominantly farmland, with trees mostly found in hedgerows, along watercourses or in woodland pockets remaining from the days of a more widely forested landscape.
Trees have traditionally been used as sources of food, fuel and building materials. More recently they have come into sharper focus as the reliable workhorses of environmental stability. ealthy woodlands function as e cient green engines for the cycle of carbon capture and o ygen production. Trees offer essential structural support to the soil through their root systems, while above ground they provide an e cellent micro habitat for a wide range of wildlife.
The value of trees to wildlife and the environment is becoming increasingly recognised. rganisations like the Woodland Trust have been the ag bearers for many years through their work to protect ancient woodland and encourage regeneration with the wide scale planting of tree species designed to promote biodiversity and tackle the climate crisis. owever, the decision to focus the ueen s latinum Jubilee around tree planting has raised the profile of trees to new heights.
The Walk on the Wild Side pro ect illustrates how even small communities can take action to support wildlife and help the environment. The pro ect s achievements in ust a few short months are impressive. With the backing of residents, local organisations, charitable trusts and businesses, this dynamic team raised the funds needed to purchase one hundred fruit trees. These included favourites such as apples, pears and plums but also lesser known species like quince and medlar.
The fruit trees, ranging in size, were distributed in a spring giveaway event with residents taking home their chosen trees to plant in gardens around the village. The location of each tree was recorded and pinned on the ueen s Green Canopy Map, thereby contributing to both a local orchard and a national forest. lans are also underway to plant a commemorative tree on the village recreation ground.
The decision to focus on fruit trees was taken very much with wildlife in mind, as they provide blossom for pollinators in spring and fruit during summer and autumn. Vikki and her daughter, Grace, were excited to receive their Apricot Bergeron tree and are looking forward to ‘being able to eat a fresh-picked apricot, in our own back garden!’ Vikki went on to say, ‘we feel incredibly lucky to have the Walk on the Wild Side project…highlighting the plight of the world immediately around us and what we can do to nurture it.’
In addition to the tree giveaway, the project has organised a number of wildlife and environmentallythemed activities. These have included heritage fruit tree grafting, photography and willow-weaving workshops, a peat-free compost project, creating pollinator planters and building a bug hotel at the village hall using reclaimed materials.
Although it is early days for the project, news of its activities can already be found online through a website that has been built and managed by 15-year-old Arthur, whose input has been greatly valued by the team. Certainly, encouraging people across all ages and interest groups has been fundamental to the project. In Bob’s words, ‘we’ve been tapping into a variety of different people in the community, getting them engaged by offering practical things to do. Moreover, coming after months of pandemic restrictions, Walk on the Wild Side has also, says Teresa, been a way of bringing different people within our community together to enjoy participating in something positive.’
The Walk on the Wild Side Jubilee Celebration Day will take place at Great Easton Village Hall on Sunday 26 June, between 2:00 - 4:30pm. Residents and visitors will be able to enjoy a Wildlife Walk around the village which will take in wildlife habitats, different species of trees and e amples of hedge laying as well as ridge and furrow fields all experienced without having to stray far beyond the village limits. An illustrative map will be available for the walk which is suitable for most walking levels.
Other activities will be like a traditional village fete including stalls, cake sales and ra es. All prizes will be related to an environmental theme (such as bird boxes or pollinator plants) and there will be opportunities to get hands-on with children’s planting activities and much more. In Teresa’s words, everyone is welcome to ‘have a walk around a beautiful village and enjoy some homemade cake.’
In the short time that it has been operational, Walk on the Wild Side has engaged with a wide swathe of the community and drawn deeply upon local skills and knowledge. It has involved families, engaged with young people, reached out to older residents and tapped into the skills of local photographers, bird-watchers and website designers. The Celebration Day fete will be an opportunity for residents to think about what the community can do next to promote a greener future.
And when the cake crumbs have been shaken out for the birds and the peat-free compost has been swept up from the hall oor, what ne t for the pro ect After the Celebration Day, the project team plans to take feedback from the community and consider its next steps. What began as an idea discussed over coffee between friends has become a community project gathering momentum. In the meantime, Teresa and Bob will be able to enjoy a few quiet moments to sit outside with a cup of tea and listen to the birds sing.
