Southern Water Biodiversity Grant funded - Hedging Our Future Project
Planting trees - we are getting through them!
The strong winds of Storm Darragh have blown most of the leaves off the trees by now so that this year's bird nests can be seen, looking naked and vulnerable. Piles of leaves are on the pavements and I remember as a child kicking through dry leaves and taking huge pleasure in doing so. Almost as good as jumping in a puddle in wellies!
The storm played havoc with our newly planted hedge trees in both West Wittering and South Mundham with our neat rows in disarray when checked. Much hammering of canes into the stony ground has secured them further and hopefully this will be enough to see them through any more strong winds.
The South Mundham fields planting is going well and we have planted one whole side of the path, and started on the other side, totalling 430 metres of new native hedge made up of 1960 trees. We have had an amazing group of volunteers come out and crack on with this, in windy cold conditions, with 2 hardened volunteers regularly cycling from Selsey and Sidlesham to join us. We have received a funds to pay for 1250 trees, canes, guards and root growth, from the Tree Council's Branching Out grant and we should get these trees in the new year. We have more trees in the Selsey Tree nursery to use, these are our priority to install into their final homes, so there will be plenty of tree planting ahead of us in 2025.
We have also successfully started a hedge in West Wittering across a very open field of about 90+ acres. Adding a mixed native hedge against a newly managed ditch will add huge value. The farmer is also going to install a wide wildflower strip along this new hedge so this will be a triple gain. We can add some riparian plants into the ditch and this will boost the recolonisation of the banks and help complete with the ever present and dominating hemlock water dropwort.
Thank you to the volunteers that donated money towards more tree guards. This has allowed me to buy enough to get us to the end of the year, planting the trees taken from the Selsey tree nursery, while we wait to hear if we are to be awarded another grant.
Anyone can plant a tree as it does not involve lots of digging. Putting a bamboo cane in the ground, wrapping a tree guard around the tree whip, stamping down the earth around a tree, or handing out the trees all helps us with this job. You can plant a tree to celebrate a life and to create a legacy.
Please come and help us in 2025 - view it as a sociable green gym!
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