We set up our Tree Nursery at Ladywell Allotments in March 2018, when we were given 28 whips to look after by Welly Trees. The 10 rowan, 9 cherry trees, 9 silver birch were donated to Welly Trees by the Woodland Trust. In addition we had 1 field maple donated to our Tree Nursery, which was much larger, left over from a neighbourhood project in Third Avenue. All 29 trees were planted in pots and then replanted on Jonathan Hornett’s allotment, which in part is now our tree nursery. The plan was to grow them for a couple of years and then to start planting them (with permission) around the town and to start sharing them with other community groups.
Additional trees of various varieties were donated in 2018/19, including a few self seeded oaks and sycamores. We planted one of these, an oak tree and the first tree from our Tree Nursery, after a group litter pick at Queensway Park on the 30th November 2019. The location was chosen by local resident Sheila who can see the tree from her house. This was planted for the Woodland Trust’s Big Climate Fightback.
In May 2020, we took over the plot next door to our trees to make our Community Allotment. After many hours, many hands, and a few additions of various buildings, fences and paths, plus tons of soil and compost, we have made it into a user friendly productive space for us all to use. This has brought the community in to our Tree Nursery too, with various people taking trees from our nursey for community spaces locally.
During 2020, we added lots of flowering plants and shrubs around Jonathan’s rear plot to create a haven for pollunators. In June 2021, we added a few bee hives in this area, and planted 30 oaks from Extinction Rebellion Rewilding around them and a further 20 in the Community Allotment. An additional space was made in the middle of the rear plot with the idea to add more trees to our Tree Nursery between where they are now and the bees.
In November 2021, we added 105 whips to this new space created for our Tree Nursery. These trees include 15 Grey Willow trees, 15 Wild Cherry, 15 Silver Birch, 15 Pendunculate Oaks trees and 45 Rowan trees; and more to come, were orderred for our Queens Green Canopy project that celebrates the jubilee in 2022. This project is a collection of partners including us and Glamis Hall that is working with Wellingborough Town Council to plant trees in the town. Keep an eye on our News blog for updates on this…
