by Uta Kohl
The Trees Committee has been re-named as the Tree Group and re-grouped. There are now six of us – Uta, Fran, Kathryn, Annie, Peter and Robert – and we have done an initial stocktaking of the tree situation on the Estate. The tree survey of the Estate, by an arboriculturist in June 2022, showed that a dozen or so trees will need pruning (to be done in spring) and an ash tree in Stoneham Lane will have to be felled because of ash dieback. Unfortunately, on walking around the estate in the autumn, we found that quite a few other cherry trees suffered drought damage after the survey was completed. The simple lesson is that if we want to continue to enjoy the spring flowering despite climate change, we will need to water our trees, at least the little ones, in summertime. Having said that, we’ll invest in watering bags for the six new trees (five cherry trees and a birch) to be planted in January to give them a proper chance. But even watering bags will have to be refilled regularly. The residents adjacent to the new trees have kindly agreed to keep an eye on them, and maybe others near existing vulnerable trees could do the same?
Meanwhile should you have a spade and spare energy, we would be delighted if you could join us for a planting session on Sat 28 January 2023 at 9am. Meet outside 24 EA – after all, many hands make light work. We could probably also do with some compost, should any of you have some going spare (email utakohl@hotmail.com).