Hitchin

The youngest 2000 trees at Swinburne are doing remarkably well with a survival rate of 99%. During the excessively hot summer of 2022 we watered the trees with 50 tankers of water taken from the river which will have contributed to their success. Trees at the bottom of the sloped site are taller, we assume because there was more moisture in the soil. Last year, 300 replacement trees were planted by Dream for Trees and their volunteers last year, and a majority of them are still surviving. The rest of the forest is pretty well established and should now be robust enough to survive.

Once a mini-forest gets going, it’s an awe-inspiring thing. In two years, these trees were so dense it was impossible to get in there and count exactly how many were alive or dead, but that’s not the point of a mini-forest. The point is to create dense, diverse habitat quickly, and that’s clearly happened here. Most of the trees were above head height, and there were no gaps. It’s good to see that the watering we carried out in year one during a very hot summer has paid off. The mini-forests are off to a solid start, and no replanting is needed.

Over in sunny Hertfordshire, Protect Earth had the enjoyable task of revitalising the Swinburne Recreational Ground. Alongside the football pitch and large green spaces for locals to use, we were able to get 1500 new trees into the ground, creating a brand new wilderness, with hunting grounds for the birds, and shaded areas for mammals and minibeasts on the forest floor.

Trees were planted as bare rooted 40-60cm whips and were protected with tree tubes and stakes in clusters of the same species, closely placed to force quick growth. Forests aren’t in straight lines, so wherever possible we try to avoid planting in lines. Shrubs were also protected with shrub guards and stakes. We left gaps randomly to provide open areas in the woodland where nature could be allowed to take its own course. The Rotary Club helped too, funding some larger trees for us to plant to provide some shade and biodiversity even quicker.

It was good to see so many local volunteers, including families with children, who were excited about the changes we were making to their playing field.

The first year of planting is always the most difficult time, and the summer 2022 drought was historically bad. Despite being right next to a river, the soil was too dry, and these saplings were struggling, so we got out there with the landowner’s pickup truck and a petrol generator to give this young miniforest a chance.

With 5700 trees to plant, we teamed up with Dream For Trees to plant them. Protect Earth handling species selection and logistics, running the planting day and demonstrating how to plant all these trees, and Dream for Trees finding local volunteers to help us.

We used canes and spiral guards to protect the young saplings from gnawing mammals such as rabbits and shrews. With a hundred volunteers, many of whom had never planted a tree before, working so closely together it could have been chaos. Instead, people broke into family and friendship groups, spread out along the length of the planting site, and somehow it worked. The most difficult part was remembering not to step backwards and trip over the canes and saplings already planted.

Nearly everyone was local and many walked their dogs or cycled through the area, and they were all very excited about watching their new mini forest grow. So are we, and we look forward to a return visit to see how the trees are doing.

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