Tree-mendous Scouts!
On Sunday 10th March there was a tree planting session in Fox Hill organised by 1st Woosehill Scouts, in conjunction with Friends of Fox Hill and Wokingham Borough Council Countryside Services team.
In the bright, warm spring sunshine, over 20 Scouts, siblings and parents turned out to plant over 100 saplings of under-storey trees provided by the Woodland Trust as part of their community planting programme.
The species planted were:
- Hazel
- Blackthorn
- Rowan
- Elder
- Crab Apple
- Dog Rose – these were placed along the dead-hedges to trail through the brash.
Each tree was given a guard to prevent deer and other animals from feeding on the tender shoots. As you walk around the woods you will easily be able to spot the trees the Scouts planted as they all have green wire mesh guards.
To further improve the soil and give the young trees the best start, a mycorrhizal dip was applied to the roots. Hopefully this will help re-establish the “wood-wide-web” which has been disrupted by the rhododendron.
Although it will be several years before birds will be feasting on the fruit of the Scouts’ trees, it will be interesting to compare the growth of these small saplings over the coming months against the other slightly larger ones that the Friends of Fox Hill have planted this winter.
In areas where rhododendron has been cleared, native plants find it difficult to get a foothold even after many years. Through targeted tree and bulb planting we hope to create a more diverse ecosystem in the woods.
