This is our first winter at Ellers and we have managed to plant just over 60 native trees along the river and around our boundary, laid one of our boundary hedges, planted up the hedge gaps and started our orchard.
We left our tree planting a little late so we could not get hold of any local Damson for this year’s planting, but we now have a eating apple, pear and cherry to start the orchard and Andrew has made some great tree guards to protect them from nibbling sheep!
Why Plant tree, hedges and
orchards?
We live in a managed countryside,
not a wilderness and sometimes I think many people forget this. Trees are such
an important landscape feature, but if we do not replant them we will lose the
character of our countryside. In areas adjacent to rivers and in arable areas
trees can play a key role in preventing soil erosion and in addition, they
provide a great habitat for a wealth of wildlife. Orchards have been noted for
some time as being in decline and 2007 traditional orchards were listed by
the government as a priority habitat under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (http://www.orchardnetwork.org.uk/biodiversity-action-plan).
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| Andrew's Orchard Tree Guards |
Funding for tree planting – England Woodland Grant Scheme, soon to be the New Environmental Land Management Scheme and the Woodland Trust often give free trees to community groups.
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