When a Walnut tree was accidentally felled during works to remove diseased ash trees in Viney Hill, the local community was understandably upset. However just a stones throw from where the tree once stood it’s legacy was ready and waiting.
For years local resident Michelle had nurtured some of the walnut trees that had self-seeded in her garden, one even had a very comfortable life in a greenhouse! She reached out to Forestry England’s community ranger Leoni offering to donate the young trees, to replant where the ash and walnut once stood.
Leoni Dawson, Community Ranger for Forestry England said: “We are very grateful to Michelle for getting in touch to donate the trees, it shows a real community spirit and forethought for how these trees will develop on the green. It’s also amazing that we had volunteers turn out to help. Community is such a vital part of life in the Forest of Dean, and it was on great display on this occasion”
On a very cold and wet Monday, along with volunteers Jackie and Rob Dale from Yorkley Village Garden, the young trees were dug up, transported out of the garden and greenhouse across to the green where they are now planted and protected from browsing deer and sheep.
Forestry England manages and cares for the nation’s 1,500 woods and forests, with over 285 million visits in 2023/24. As England’s largest land manager, the group shapes landscapes and enhances forests for people to enjoy, wildlife to flourish and businesses to grow.
By 2026 it aims to:
- create at least 6,000 more hectares where we integrate wilding activities in our productive forests
- increase the diversity of visitors to the nation’s forests and have one million hours of high-quality volunteer time given to the nation’s forests
- plant at least 2,000 hectares of new, high quality, predominantly broadleaf woodlands