The Conservation Volunteers Norfolk doesn’t just cut trees down, they also plant them, and that is what they were doing in December. The team were planting trees in Bowthorpe Southern Park, Norwich, which is a park created from gravel extraction and is grazed by ponies to increase plant diversity. The areas we planted are therefore fenced to stop the ponies eating the trees as they grow!
The volunteers planted a mixture of native species including oak, beech, cherry and rowan, to increase the number of habitats in the park which will increase the number of species the park can support, it will also create areas of shade when the trees are mature.
Planting trees is quite easy: you use a spade to create a slit in the ground, then you place the whip (very small tree) in the slit and move the soil back around the roots. It is really important to make sure all the roots are in the soil, and that the ground is firmly stamped down. If the ground is stoney this can make tree planting more difficult, but luckily for us the ground at Bowthorpe Southern Park was quite soft.
Approximately 500 trees in total were panted and a good time was had by all. Join in, feel good.
