Well, what an exhausting work party! We had received 16 canopy trees from Rushcliffe Borough Council, each with their roots wrapped in soil. Each was a fair weight, so imagine the effort getting them all up the hill in muddy conditions, along with other materials and tools! Basically it was one tree per wheelbarrow over the steepest part. Anyway, we got them all up there, with help from a passing member of the public. The next problem was to get them all down to the work site, towards the southern end of the main path. Again it was a relay system, but we had not anticipated a fallen tree blocking the path about 100m short of our destination. We chose to lift everything over the fallen tree, rather than taking a longer route via the western path. By the time everything was in position it had taken about 2 hours and we were already in need of a drinks break.
Fortunately the planting was speedier than expected, thanks to benign soil conditions. We planted 9 of the canopy trees (small-leaved lime and oak) in the trial planting area on the western side of the central path a little north of the former wood chip pile. The remaining 7 canopy trees were planted in nearby areas, in and around the triangle. Each tree received a stake, tie and spiral guard, although we did not have time to equip them all with a mulch mat (from geotextile) and mulch (rotted wood chippings). Also about 25 purchased whips of understorey species (hawthorn, holly, etc.) were planted in the trial area, among the canopy trees. The wet conditions meant that watering was not a problem, but we have jerry cans to keep them watered during drier periods until they become established.
We were lucky in that the heavy rain early in the morning had more or less stopped by the time we started, and later we had just a light shower, but all paths were quite muddy after several wet days.
2. Updated information for zones document
– Zone 3: 9 canopy trees and 25 understorey whips planted in trial planting area
– Zone 4: 2 canopy trees planted near the triangle.
– Zone 5: 3 canopy trees planted in the triangle and 2 in the north-west corner of the zone. 3. Volunteer hours
29.75
Thanks to all who participated.
