A note from Eric: “I went up there this afternoon to discover that quite a lot of the protectors had been thrown around and some bamboos removed.  I have put most of it back as well as I can.  The protectors seem to split along their length rather easily and are not able to be re used.” This site was planted by the Tree Group back in December 2021 to provide some screening to the substation and industrial site beyond and to improve the view for the local residents and those using the open area.  In what turned out to be a lengthy planting session, over 200 assorted hedging trees, each with stake and rabbit guard, provided by the Conversation Volunteers (TCV) were planted one Saturday morning in December.  A number of small cob trees, grown and donated by a Witham resident were also planted. We then watered the site the following season from mid-April through to the end of September. This too was a bit of a slog as this was the last place to be watered on our weekly watering run of over 200 trees and the hill certainly did not help. Normal practise, as recommended by the Woodland Trust, is not to water whips, a policy we did not follow, and yet about 25% were lost. The following winter we filled in the gaps and will once more endeavour to water the site in the spring and summer of 2023. It is of course very upsetting to see the site vandalised in this way.

In the open area at the bottom of Spa Road between the railway and the beginning of the housing there are trees on the Asda side of the road, while on the other side there are trees between the railway and the entrance road to the football and rugby grounds and at the far end beyond the play areas but nothing in between. So there is no shade or shelter for those using the play areas. More than two years ago we discussed with the relevant officer of Braintree District Council (BDC), who own the land, the possibility of filling this gap. He suggested that there was scope for some 30 trees of mixed species on the site, which BDC could fund. The trees would be planted between the play areas and the road. The site is largely on a slope down to the road and therefore unsuitable for recreation. The area between the play areas and the football ground is used by visiting fairs and circuses and is not available for planting. Initially it was hoped to carry out the project in the 2021/22 planting season but in the event storm damage in the district meant that BDC had to divert funds to remedial work. It was agreed to postpone the project to the current planting season. However, BDC has not been able to fund any planting in Witham this season and the prospect of future funding is, in the present financial situation, uncertain. We regard this project as important and accordingly deserving a high priority. When it became clear that no BDC funding could be expected this year, we therefore reserved some of the Witham Town Council (WTC) funding this year in order to make a start on the planting and five trees were planted on 26 January. As ever we are grateful to WTC for its continued support for our work. A few years ago the Tree Group were kindly left some funds in the will of a local resident. Some of this money has been used in modest quantities to top up funding on various projects but we have held back most, recognising the increasing financial pressure on local authorities, against the time when we may not be able to secure adequate funding for agreed schemes. Given the priority we believe the Spa Road project merits, we decided to use some of our own funds this season to make further progress and with this money we were able to plant seven more trees on 9 February. In accordance with BDC’s preference (and our own) the twelve trees we have planted so far are of a variety of species – alder, downy birch, field maple, hornbeam and lime. Incidentally, it is worth noting that we get less value from our own money than from local authority funding. Local authorities do not pay VAT and can secure supplier discounts. We must pay VAT and no discounts are available to us. There are no further funds available to us in this planting season and the season is accordingly at an end. We have not been able to plant as many trees this year as in the last two years – the unavailability of funding from BDC has been a significant problem. We will now start planning our planting for next season, in consultation with the funding bodies, and obviously a priority will be to secure resources to at least make progress with the Spa Road project and, if possible, complete it. Richard Hawkes February 2023

The Tree Group has been pleased to contribute four trees for the sensory garden being established at Chatten Free School. The school was opened in September 2021 for children seriously affected by autism. Two fastigiate hornbeams were planted in challenging weather conditions before Christmas. Fortunately, the weather eventually relented to allow us to plant the second two in a more comfortable environment in early February. A Himalayan birch with the whitest of bark and a Tibetan cherry with a shiny mahogany coloured trunk will allow the children to explore their senses in a safe and stimulating environment. Denied by legislation from using our usual funds, which come from local authorities, the Group funded this worthy cause from within our membership. Allan Waight February 2023

Last year, while we were considering our plans for the current planting season, we were contacted by a resident of Cornel Close who asked if there was any possibility that we would be able to provide additional trees to enhance the environment of the Close. We visited the area, agreed that there was a need for planting and noted that there was also a lack of trees in the similar road, Bryony Close, on the other side of Honeysuckle Way. As usual, when we investigated, we found that the layout of electricity, gas, water and sewage services limited the scope for planting. Nevertheless, there was still some suitable space and over two days, 5 and 12 January, we planted six field maples of two different varieties on two sites in Bryony Close and one field maple and two whitebeams on one site in Cornel Close. These are all trees suitable for residential areas. They do not grow too large and they provide interest throughout the spring, summer and autumn. We shall as usual be watering the trees for at least the first 2 years and carrying out any necessary maintenance to ensure that the trees continue to establish successfully and provide the planned benefits for local residents. The funding for these trees was provided by Witham Town Council (WTC) as part of its policy of improving amenities for local residents, while also securing the health and environmental gains which trees provide. We are as ever delighted to assist WTC in meeting its aims. At the end of the second day’s work we moved the short distance into the Bramble Road Park to replace two dead field maples near the playground closest to the road. This site has an interesting, and rather depressing, history. Originally Braintree District Council (BDC) planted liquidambars on the site, four of which failed to survive. BDC then funded us to replace these in the 2018/19 planting season. We planted field maples, as being a more robust species, reusing the existing large BDC cages. The following year, for reasons unknown, two of the cages were removed, allowing the BDC grounds staff to mow right up to the trunks of the two trees. While watering these trees for the second year in the summer of 2020, we noticed that bark had been removed at the base of both trunks, the result no doubt of over-zealous use of the strimmer. We mentioned the damage to BDC staff who happened to be on the site and pointed out that, if the bark were removed all the way round the trunk, the trees would die. Our intervention seemingly had no effect, because the following year the rings were completed and the trees died. We have been waiting for the opportunity to restore this site to provide important shade and protection to users of the playground. BDC has not been able to offer any funding this year and we felt that the site deserved priority in the use of the WTC tree budget. We therefore replaced the dead trees with two new field maples and caged them firmly to keep the mowers at bay! However, we noted that the cages have now been removed from the two surviving trees from our 2018/19 planting and we must hope that history does not repeat itself. Finally, on the same day, we replaced, as promised, the dead red maple in Forest Road near to Laburnum Way. This was the only victim of the last summer’s extreme drought. There was certainly no sign of drought when we planted the replacement. Indeed, the planting hole was completely waterlogged. This whole site is formed of heavy clay and we can only hope that next summer is less dry and that the tree survives like the other three on the site. Richard Hawkes January 2023  

The three days of planting on the Templars Estate were completed on 1 December with 32 trees in the ground. Following the planting on the first occasion of 8 cherries and a London plane around the play areas, reported above, 10 hornbeams of 2 varieties were planted on 24 November on an adjacent site and 10 acers of 3 varieties, 2 ornamental pears and a liquidambar were planted on the same site on 1 December. The cherries, hornbeams and acers were funded by the Forestry Commission via Essex County Council. The remaining 4 trees were funded by a grant to the Templars Residents Association from Witham Town Council. As ever we are grateful to the funding authorities for their support in improving the environment for Witham residents. Particular thanks go to the Residents Association who approached us some time ago for help in enhancing the tree cover on the estate and worked with us in devising the project. We were pleased to see our chief contact, Mel, on site on every day of the planting. Once again we were able to count on the help of volunteers from Aegon. As mentioned above, 3 helped on 17 November. On 24 November we were very happy to be joined by Alex, Craig, Jackie, Richard and Zoe. On 1 December we were absolutely stunned to find ourselves welcoming no fewer than 18 Aegon volunteers, including a number from their Scottish office who were coming south on other business but volunteered to join their Witham colleagues in helping us. As we were ourselves shorthanded and had 13 trees to plant, we were delighted to welcome them. They were: Adam, Archana, Ben, Bob, Carrie, Colin G., Colin S., Dean, Jessica, John P., John W., Matthew, Neil, Oliver, Richard, Ross, Stephen and Terry. We have commented in previous years on the praiseworthy enthusiasm and commitment of the Aegon volunteers and this year’s group (which included some welcome returnees) comfortably maintained that high standard. We should perhaps make it completely clear that all the volunteers have been, not only enthusiastic and committed, but also hugely effective. We would not have been able to plant as many trees as we have without their help. Witham owes them all a considerable debt. One footnote, on all the planting days since 2014-15 when we first started planting a substantial number of trees each year we had never suffered significant rain. We lost this enviable record on the first day of planting this year, when we were thoroughly soaked! By way of inadequate compensation we saw plenty of the sun on the other 2 planting days, as the photos show. Richard Hawkes 1 December 2022

Although we haven’t done a blog for our website since the end of September, when Richard covered our watering runs throughout the gloriously hot but dry summer of ’22, WTG has still been busy carrying out a tree maintenance programme during October and November.  Additionally, committee members continue to meet once a month to organise and plan the group’s activities including the purchasing and storing of trees for our next planting season. The first day of this autumn’s planting season began on Thursday (17th November) with the first of three planting days planned for the Templars estate, when we planted 8 beautiful cherry blossom trees and 1 stately plane around the play area.  It was good for those of us in the group who had not partaken in the maintenance programme or monthly meetings to catch up having not seen each other for a few weeks!  Furthermore, it was very nice too to be joined by Alex, Jane and Lauren from Aegon who kindly offered their services on what was a cold, damp, grey November day. Our second planting day on the Templars estate is planned for 24th November and the third on 1st December, weather permitting.  Please see the photo section for some more before and after photos of our morning’s planting in some very muddy conditions! Jane 18 November 2022

The electricity substation in Cut Throat Lane extends well into the open public area at the bottom of Teak Walk. This area also overlooks the industrial estate to the east. In discussion with Eastlight and representatives of the local residents association we agreed to seek means to provide some screening for these features to improve the view for local residents and those using the open area. For the substation we were able to take advantage of a scheme offered by The Conservation Volunteers (TCV), supported by Ovo Energy, to provide free whips, in this case 200 assorted hedging trees. For the industrial estate, we sought to fill gaps in the already existing screen, provided by trees planted a few years ago by Braintree District Council (BDC) under a section 106 scheme (on which the Tree Group advised). We were most grateful to secure funding for this purpose from BDC under its Community Grants scheme, through the good offices of Councillor Michelle Weeks. The grant allowed us to add three substantial trees to the area. The planting was carried out on Saturday, 11 December. It proved to be a lengthy session, with all the whips needing to be staked and provided with rabbit guards. Besides the whips provided by TCV, members added some whips and small trees from their own gardens. In addition our special thanks go to Tim and Ako who donated a number of small cob trees which they had grown and which, besides their useful role in masking the intrusive metalwork of the substation, will in due course provide tasty and healthy cob nuts to local residents. It will of course take some years for all the trees to establish and create the hedge which will eventually screen the electricity substation, though even in the early years the planting should go a long way to soften the impact of the machinery. For screening the industrial area the new more substantial trees should make a noticeable impact from their first year of growth. We shall, as always, be watering and maintaining the new planting until it is established. Richard Hawkes December 2021 See photos page for more photos of this site.

Last year we worked successfully with Eastlight to provide 17 new trees on the Allectus Way estate. This year we continued that partnership by planting 13 trees on the Forest Road estate. Eastlight meets the cost of the trees and, with the agreement of Witham Town Council (WTC), the Tree Group meets the cost of supporting and caging the trees from funds provided by WTC for this purpose. Some of the trees, which were planted on 9 and 16 December, replaced trees which were planted in recent years by contractors to Eastlight or its predecessor, Greenfields, and which had failed to thrive. We shall of course be watering and maintaining the new trees and are confident that the new trees will not go the way of the old. The trees are mostly in small groups along Forest Road itself, except for two located in roads off Forest Road. The soil proved variable, though the only problematic site was the area just beyond the end of Laburnum Way, where the deep and sodden clay provided a real challenge. All the trees are now in and we will watch with interest how they develop in the different planting conditions. Richard Hawkes December 2021

In 2015 Braintree District Council (BDC) planted trees between Pasture Road and the line of the old railway as part of the extensive planting in the town funded by a section 106 agreement with a developer. The liquidambers and silver birches in this group of trees did not flourish and over the years 9 of the 11 trees have died. With funding from Witham Town Council the Tree Group has now replaced these trees with two kinds of maple, which we hope will be more robust. The planting was carried out first on 11 November, when the dead liquidambers were replaced with a maple variety called ‘crimson king’, whose red leaves should match the autumn foliage of the remaining liquidambers. On 25 November the dead silver birches were replaced by another maple variety called ‘lienco’. This was not a simple exercise. In order to retain the BDC square 4-post cages, it was necessary to carry out the planting within the cages, meaning that the work had to be carried out in a very restricted area. In addition it was necessary to dig out the dead trees, the supporting post and the old watering pipe. This turned out to be even more difficult, since the trees had been supplied and planted by BDC’s contractors in wire baskets and much effort was needed to excavate all the pieces of rusted wire before the new trees could be planted. Nevertheless, all the trees are now in the ground and on 2 December we plan to water them in. The soil in the planting area is poor and compacted and we shall be keeping a close eye on the progress of the new trees in the hope that, unlike their predecessors, they will prosper. As with all the trees we plant, we shall water them for the first 2 years – and longer, if necessary. A few yards from the present site on the green in Pasture Road we planted a plane tree during the 2018-19 planting season, to replace an oak which had died. We are still watering the plane tree, which is alive but reluctant to flourish. We hope the maples will prove more resilient. Richard Hawkes November 2021

Most of the trees which we plant are financed by Witham Town Council, Braintree District Council or Eastlight. A small number, however, are sponsored by members of the public, generally in memory of a lost loved one. We have recently planted five of these sponsored trees in memory of four different people, three trees in a site off Flora Road where a similar tree was planted last year, one in Spa Road (in memory of Councillor Paul Ryland whose electoral area included this site) and one on the area between the Humber Estate and the football ground. This last commemorated Mr Mick Pywell, whose daughter presented us last year with three horse chestnuts which her father had grown and which are planted in the same area. In keeping with this gift we chose a variety of horse chestnut to commemorate Mr Pywell. The sponsors and other relatives and friends attended the planting of three of the trees. All sponsored trees, like all the other trees we plant, are watered and maintained for two years while they settle in – and sometimes longer if, for example, they are taking time to flourish or there is an extended period of drought. If you are interested in sponsoring a tree to mark an event in the life of you or your loved ones or simply to increase the number of trees in the area, you can contact us on this site for the cost and other details. We can take into consideration any preference expressed by a sponsor as regards species but cannot always meet such preferences, either because the chosen species is not suitable for the site or does not fit with other planting in the area or because of supply problems. On the last point, for example, we were asked this year if we could plant an oak but no oaks are currently available from suppliers because of an infestation of oak processionary moth. In this instance it happened that we had been given an oak grown in a local garden (and therefore outside current controls on the sale of oaks) and we were able to offer this to the sponsor with no charge for the tree itself. There is inevitably a significant lead time for any planting to allow for planning, obtaining any necessary permissions and acquiring trees and associated equipment. It may therefore be that any expressions of interest now could not be met in the current planting season; planting would then be likely to take place in Autumn 2022. Richard Hawkes November 2021

Braintree District Council (BDC), in consultation with Witham Tree Group and with the support of Witham Town Council, originally planned to plant trees between Bramble Road and Honeysuckle Way to provide a park in memory of those men of Witham who fought, and in particular those who gave their lives, in the First World War. We have reported here on the progress and completion of the original scheme over the last two planting seasons. This year BDC has decided to extend the Park to commemorate additionally those men of Witham who gave their lives in the Second World War, as well as the more recent loss of Corporal L. Newell in Afghanistan. The Park has therefore become a War Memorial Park rather than commemorating a particular conflict. This extension of the Memorial Park involved the planting of 35 more trees, 18 on 21 October and the remaining 17 on 28 October. On both occasions the Group had the assistance of volunteers from Aegon Insurance, as well as our customary support from Will and Ollie from BDC’s contractors Bee Brook. The two planting days were a contrast, the first damp and very windy and the second dry and sunny, though the wind did get up towards the end. We normally start planting in November or December and one effect of the early start this year was that the trees to be planted still had their leaves on, albeit turning to their Autumn colours. The leaves of course gave the wind more purchase on the trees with the result that planting, supporting and caging the trees was rather more of a struggle than usual. Nevertheless, all the trees were in the ground on each day before we dragged weary limbs and out-of-practice muscles off the site. We were pleased to welcome our new member, Clare, to her first planting day. As we were aiming to equal our record of the most trees planted in one day, this was dropping Clare in at the deep end but she had no trouble keeping her head above water and we look forward to her help on other planting days this season. We have had the assistance of volunteers from Aegon (or its predecessor, Cofunds) on a number of projects over recent years. Every one of the several dozen staff members who have helped us in that time has delivered infectious enthusiasm and untiring effort. We could not have completed all our projects, particularly the War Memorial Park, without their help. Added to the roll of honour on this occasion were Alex, Bobby, Claire, Katie, Roger, Suraya and Terry the first week and Bobby, Jane, Karen, Leanne and Lloyd the second week. You will see that Bobby helped on both occasions; he is pipped only by Lloyd who was returning for his third contribution after helping us on two occasions in previous years. We always enjoy the company of our Aegon friends and admire their commitment. As ever Will and Ollie of Bee Brook were excellent workers and excellent company. We benefit hugely from their willingness to turn their hand to whatever task is needed, particularly their help with some of the heavier work. As you walk round the Park, note the more than 200 supporting posts and reflect that probably more than half were rammed home by one man, Ollie from Bee Brook. Finally, just as the director is usually the last name in film credits, we should give a most honourable mention to Shaun Taylor, the BDC officer who did so much to secure support for this project. Having obtained approval to proceed, it was Shaun who decided which trees to purchase and where they should go. We always enjoy working with Shaun and he is always happy to listen to our own ideas on planting. While there are no more plans for this site, we are working with Shaun on other projects, some of which we shall be reporting on later in the season. While we have completed work on the Memorial Park for the present planting season, a project like this is never quite finished It may be necessary to replace some trees from time to time and, as the Park matures, it may become clear that some amendment to the shape or content of the Park would improve its impact. But the Park is now fully established as a permanent feature of the landscape, a constant reminder to the present residents of Witham that their predecessors included those who were prepared to risk their lives in defence of this country. The next step will be for BDC to commission and install signs to explain the purpose of the Park. We have enjoyed participating in this important project, contributing to a long term feature of the town’s life and an amenity for future generations. It has been a major undertaking but we still have many other only slightly less ambitious planting plans to carry out. If you are interested in lending a hand, regularly or only from time to time, do get in touch with us through this site. Richard Hawkes 1 November 2021

After we had finished watering for the year, due both to the rain and approaching autumn, we started on our annual round of checking trees for any thing that needs doing before next year.  Over 3 weeks we inspected most of the trees that we have planted. Last week we carried out some remedial work on the Memorial Park and other trees near Bramble Road, several needed new posts having been hit hard and broken when the grass was being mown.  Others had broken ties, possibly related to the windy conditions in the past year. Several cages will need removing from the Alders off Town End Field, which are growing well, depending when we have a spare day! Eric 20 October 2021 Week 1 1. Asda green – tulip tree cage removed 2. Humber Road behind Ouse Chase – removed dead birch 3. Ouse Chase – cage-less rowan posts removed; two others, swapped cages for smaller ones 4. Avon Walk – removed cage from tree which has lost top through die back 5. Tees Close – changed cage of acer for short one 6. Spa Road – 1 field maple cage swapped for small one, replaced failed posts 7. Epping Close – birch reposted Week 2 1. Allectus Way a) Acer ginalla – tie snapped b) Silver birch – section cut out of the cage top 2. Town End Field – reduced cage height 3. Greenfields, off Pasture Road – London plane trimmed 4. Town Park – Pin oak, removed cross beam Week 3 1. Memorial Park a) Two dead trees removed cages – trees to be replaced b) Two trees near Honeysuckle Way (hornbeam and malus) dead leaders removed (coral spot?) c)’lazurus’ alder recovering, may need work next year 2. Bramble Road a) Maple, cross beam removed b) 2nd maple, shortened cage, redone tie c) 1st oak, redone tie d) 2nd oak, new posts, re-caged e) Silver birch re-caged 3. Sycamore behind Spring Lodge – regrowing vigorously from base below graft but upper branches not dead, so defer to next year 4. Flora Road. Tulip tree new strap

We water the trees we plant throughout the growing season (roughly April to September) for the first two years after planting. We do this because it takes that long for the newly planted trees to get their roots down deep and wide enough to ensure that they can find water for themselves. It is important to make sure that water reaches to the bottom of the root ball – about 18 inches to 2 feet deep (0.5-0.6m to the metric generation) – and to facilitate this process we place a watering pipe round the root ball of each tree as we plant it. This is a flexible ‘leaky’ pipe one end of which protrudes above the ground. During the watering season each tree receives two full 2 gallon/10 litre cans of water taken (with permission) from the River Brain. One can goes down the pipe and the other over the surface to soak the top part of the root ball. We normally go out once a week; a weekly soaking is more use to the tree than a daily dribble. If there has been heavy enough rain since the last watering, we leave the job to nature for a week. For the last three years we have faced dry summers, dry to the point of genuine drought. Consequently, we had virtually no ‘time off’.  This year was different in that from June there were regular showers and the average temperature was below the norm, which made it a particularly good growing season. However, the showers were intermittent and the ground dried in the intervals. The result was that for all the rain there was only one week when we were convinced that there had been enough rain to justify us in not watering. Obviously, we err on the side of caution and for those whose picnics and barbecues have been ruined by rain it may seem strange that we carried on watering but it takes heavy and continuous rain to penetrate essentially dry ground to a depth of 18 inches/half a metre. Two of our members have rain gauges and, in the view of some of us, they take unjustified pleasure after each downpour in pointing out that the apparently torrential rain amounted to only half an inch or less. As recorded in the April report above, we had a record number of trees to water this year. In the event we did not have to water the 500 whips but that still left us more than 130 trees requiring two cans each. Our first watering round took us more than three hours but, as we worked out the best route and the most effective deployment of our resources, we cut the time to close to two hours, plus a well deserved coffee break. As also recorded in the earlier report, some of our team were unavailable for watering due to work commitments (though one was able to return to duty in mid-July). We also lost another member at the beginning of the season owing to a long term injury. Fortunately, by lamenting pitifully our misfortune in the presence of family and friends, we moved three of them, two full-time and one occasionally, to join the team and we are very grateful for their help. Given that we are all forced to miss the occasional watering day due to ill health, other demands or the return of summer holidays, we would have been severely stretched without these additional volunteers. As it is, with only a few more weeks of the season to go, we have managed to water all of the trees planted in the last two planting seasons (and a few others that looked in need) and kept them all alive (a small number will need attention during the winter but none suffered from lack of water). If you want to know the value of regular watering, have a look at the trees planted, without an effective watering plan, in the new housing estates and other building developments around Witham. We surveyed the trees at three major sites this spring and found that around 20% failed in the first year. Our own failure rate is around 1%. Shortly our attention will switch from watering to planting. The existing trees have begun to slow down their growth and in a few weeks will begin to lose their leaves. About half of those watered this summer will be ready to find water for themselves next summer but in their place we will take on the watering of the trees we plant this autumn and winter. We are in the middle of discussions with our funding bodies and other interested parties about where and what to plant during the autumn and winter but it looks likely that we will be watering at least the same number of trees in the 2022 watering season. Do keep reading our website for details as the plans are finalised and agreed. Meanwhile, if you are interested in helping to plant trees (and perhaps water them too), do contact us through this website. If you can only be available at weekends, that is not a problem; we can adapt the timing of the planting to the people available, as we have done in the past. Planting trees and making sure they get established is an investment in the future. We can assure you that you will find it a rewarding use of your time. Richard Hawkes 31 August 2021  

This year’s planting season ended on 20 March and we had hoped, given the exceptionally wet winter, that we would not need to start watering the trees we had planted last year and this until some time in May, perhaps even after the next planned relaxation of the pandemic protocols on 17 May. However, there has been so little rain in the last few weeks that yesterday (23 April) we set off for the first watering round of the year only a month after we finished planting. We thought we had a heavy schedule last year but we managed that load by filling the bowser only twice (we have permission from the Town Council to fill the bowser from the River Brain, which offers more nutrients than mains water). This year, if we water all the trees and whips planted last year and this (more than 130 trees and 250 whips), it will take four bowser loads. Yesterday we could not water the whips near Holly Walk as we do not yet have vehicle access to the site but three bowser loads was still a new record. For different reasons we cannot field a full team at present and, because of the pandemic rules, we cannot yet share cars. On this first watering round of the season we also needed to try out new routes round the various planting sites. As a result this first round took more than three hours. As we get more experience, we should be able to speed up a little. It may for example prove unnecessary to water every tree every week. It might even rain! When the Group first started, there were several weeks each summer when we did not need to water the trees because there had been adequate rainfall but certainly for the last three years we have watered all our trees – and sometimes other people’s – almost every week and occasionally more. This seems to be the new weather pattern: wet winters and dry summers. If you would like to lend a hand, either by joining the watering team or by watering trees near your residence, we should be very glad to hear from you. We shall be out whenever we need to be from now until September/October when the growing season for the trees ends. We shall not all be available every week and we don’t expect you to be. If you want to know where the nearest trees to you are, just ask. We are currently updating the tree data list on this website under About Us: Reports to include this year’s planting. Richard Hawkes 24 April 2021

Braintree District Council (BDC) has been considering how to increase the number of trees in its area and in particular what scope there is to create new woodland. One area identified, with the help of the Tree Group, as a possible site for a belt of trees is the field between Holly Walk and the railway on the northern edge of Witham. Besides the benefits which trees already provide, this site on the side of the field nearest the railway was seen to have an advantage for local residents in affording some sound proofing to the noise of rail traffic. Planting in this area would leave the great majority of this extensive field for recreation. BDC decided to test out the site by planting in 2 trial areas this year and the Tree Group offered its assistance. BDC’s contractors Bee Brook had fenced off the areas, broken the surface and added tree bark by way of soil improvement. Last Tuesday (16 March) we planted some 250 whips in the first trial area and, having received further supplies, we planted a similar number in the second area on Saturday (20 March). There are already trees on the slope down to the railway and the 2 trial areas are placed where this cover is thinnest. The traditional whip planting method would have spaced the whips so that we would have fitted perhaps 50 into each trial area but BDC wanted to test a method pioneered in Japan (the Miyawaki Method), popular in the Netherlands and increasingly used in the UK whereby the whips are densely planted. The theory is that the competition for light and space will accelerate growth and result in a more natural woodland effect. The whips planted are field maple, holly and hornbeam, all of which can grow into sizeable trees. We shall follow the competition with interest! In order to reinforce the existing tree line we also planted on the slope near the second trial area a number of whips and small trees provided by group members. These should fill the gap at this point without impinging on the new woodland planting. Finally, before we set off to plant the second trial area, we met at Bramble Road to plant three silver birches, provided by BDC, to enhance the existing planting on the side opposite the World War 1 Memorial Park. This completed one of our busiest planting seasons with some 70 mature trees and 500 whips in the ground. All we have to do now is water them, and last year’s trees, throughout the summer. As the pandemic restrictions begin to ease, I am sure we all hope for good weather to enjoy our restoration to something like normality but let us hope at least for more rain than we have had in recent years. Richard Hawkes 20 March 2021  

We reported in January that planting on the World War 1 Memorial Park between Bramble Road and Honeysuckle Way had been completed. The project was designed and funded by Braintree District Council (BDC) and in January we had finished planting the 30 trees allocated by BDC for this, the second and final year of the project. However, BDC recently let us know that funds were available for additional planting and we were delighted to return to the site on 13 March to put some final touches to this important project. It had always been the intention that the Park would be a memorial to all those people from Witham who served in the First World War and we had planned that there should at least be one tree for each of the 82 men who gave their lives in that conflict. We had achieved that goal in January but were very happy to have the chance to increase the number of trees to improve the shape and impact of the site. We added 6 more trees, 3 hornbeams and 3 field maples, at the Bramble Road end of the Park, bringing the planting on each side of the existing hedge into line. We were on the wrong side of the hedge from the point of view of the weather as we were battered by very strong gusts of wind on the exposed site. Fortunately, we and all the trees survived this battering. In addition we planted 2 white poplars and a red leaved acer on the other side of Honeysuckle Road from the Memorial Park. These trees are down a slope and not at the moment visible from all parts of the Memorial Park but when they begin to establish themselves and grow towards their full height, they will form a dramatic end marker for the Park. Of course, our responsibilities do not end here. We shall be watering the trees throughout the summer and carrying out maintenance work as required. The next step is to install signs explaining the purpose of the Park and we will be liaising with BDC as they develop ideas for these signs. Richard Hawkes 13 March 2021  

Mick Pywell loved his little garden. So did the three horse chestnuts he nurtured from seed. So much so that they outgrew the space available. Sadly Mick recently passed away before he could find them a new home. His daughter, Michelle, not wishing to see them simply cut down contacted the Tree Group. The trees were well rooted and took some lifting but with our human digging machine (aka Mark) the trees were out of the ground with sufficient root we hope to help them establish in their new home. They now stand proudly between the two oval beds, known affectionately by members of the Group as the lozenges, off Spa Road between the Humber Road estate and the ditch. The lozenges were planted a few years ago with help from local school children and are now maturing nicely with a mixture of shrubs and small trees. We took advantage of the fine spring like weather, before the next beast from the east arrives, to plant two oaks also donated by a local resident. The oaks are at present quite small so it was felt that they should be allowed to develop in the more secure environment of the lozenges rather than in open ground in the hope that they will eventually be able to join Mick’s trees. Allan Waight 5 February 2021

Having finished the 17 tree project on the Hatfield Road Estate and having filled the interval by planting 4 replacement trees in The Avenue, we came back on 26 January to finish the World War 1 Memorial Park between Bramble Road and Honeysuckle Way. We had the last 15 trees to plant and fortunately were able to field a nearly complete team. 6 of us were present, together with Will and Ollie from Bee Brook, Braintree District Council’s contractors. Keeping carefully to the Covid guidelines, we were able to get all the trees in the ground, supported and caged, within 4 hours. On the last occasion, despite the fact that we were planting at least a hundred yards from any houses, we had come across a pipe of unknown origin and purpose, which had obliged us to move the site of one of the trees. Though nothing quite as dramatic occurred at this session, we did excavate quite a bit of building debris, including a whole brick and a large lump of concrete which took 2 of us to lift. These were even further from any houses. We were happy to leave the mystery of their origin to future archaeologists and just get on with the job. So the project is now complete and Witham has a living and long term memorial to all those from the town (hardly more than a village then) who served their country in the First World War and particularly those who gave their lives. We planted 53 trees last year, one of which did not survive the summer drought, and have added a further 30 this year, which provides a tree for each of those 82 men whose names are on the Town War Memorial. We must record our appreciation to Braintree District Council, which designed and funded the Memorial Park, and to Witham Town Council, which supported the project and has always encouraged the Tree Group in its work. We shall next be discussing with the Town Council the provision of explanatory notices in order to ensure that the Memorial Park makes its full impact in bringing home to Witham residents the selflessness and sacrifice of their predecessors. Finally, we must express our thanks to Will and Ollie of Bee Brook for all their efforts, and for the pleasure of their company, in bringing this project to completion. If anything could disturb our sense of achievement as we walked slowly and somewhat achingly off the site, it was the thought that across the town as a whole we are going to have to water more than 100 trees through the summer. We are probably the only people in Witham who are hoping for a wet summer! Richard Hawkes 26 January 2021  

This morning we made our way back to the Hatfield Road Estate where last week we had planted 4 limes and 2 hornbeams near Allectus Way shops.  For today’s planting, our first trailer load comprised 4 liquidambars and 2 acers and a second load comprised 3 more acers, another liquidambar and a single betula. Eric usually loads up the trailer the night before, this being a job in itself what with the trees, stakes, mesh, watering pipes, sack barrow, post rammer, post hole bar, hammer, nails and root conditioner, all to be safely secured for transportation.  (Although our tree planting activities are very much a collective effort, we really wouldn’t have a tree group without Eric as he not only provides the facilities to store the trees and bowser but also provides most of the tools as well as the trailer, although we each bring our own spades and forks). Our first location of the day was the bottom of Turstan Road where we planted the 4 liquidambars in a straight-line configuration, Allan had arrived earlier to mark out the planting positions. Mindful of adhering to strict lockdown regulations we limited our number to 6 so that we could ensure easier social distancing and separation of functions.  As it turned out, the earth being reasonably soft, if not a bit claggy, most of the planting holes were dug by solo effort with Eric and Graham tending to the posts, watering pipes and cages.  The 2 acers were planted as a pair along the front of Goda Close. As the hole digging progressed quickly and the weather was for and not against us, we decided to plant the remaining 5 trees planned for the estate.  Eric headed back home and re-loaded the trailer with the 3 acers, the liquidambar and the betula all to be planted at five individual green spaces either side of Wulvesford footpath. All 11 trees had been planted in one (almost) morning, being notably a record for our core membership.  Because of Lockdown we declined assistance from our volunteer helpers; when in happier, safer times such help would have been very welcome.  We look forward to a brighter, safer more normal future where this is the case. Jane 6 January 2021

Members of the Tree Group gathered today, in Covid secure fashion, to plant 6 trees, one set of four limes and a pair of hornbeam, by the shops near Allectus Way and King Edward Way on the Hatfield Road Estate. The day started off frosty but by the time Allan had marked out the planting positions, a fine winter’s day was upon us, cold but sunny and clear blue sky.  Better still was the soil, as this was not dry or stony or hard to dig as is sometimes the case, quite a relief for those in the group who had sat around too much during the Covid (Christmas) period! Accompanied by new member Terry and a very helpful local resident with his two sons, to whom we are very grateful, the work was done within a couple of hours after which we all retreated to our Lockdown homes. The trees we have planted this year will be totally unaware (being trees!) that this was the weirdest of years.  So too were the black-headed gulls and resident starlings that had been kicking off in the background today as we worked away.  Nature can be tragic and beautiful but that it carries on regardless of the turmoil we have found ourselves in during 2020 is also reassuring. Happy New Year to all Witham, here’s to better times in 2021 – and more tree planting. Jane – 30 December 2020  

Having limbered up last Friday, 18 December, by planting four trees funded by Witham Town Council, three in Bramble Road and one in Forest Road, we returned today, 22 December, to continue our work on the World War1 Memorial Park between Bramble Road and Honeysuckle Way. This project, funded by Braintree District Council and supported by Witham Town Council, commemorates, not only the men of Witham killed in World War 1, but all those from the town who served in that conflict. Only four of us were available but we were ably supported once again by Will and Ollie from the Braintree District Council’s contractors, Bee Brook. The smaller numbers in fact made it easier to ensure that we observed the rules on social distancing, as did our decision to separate the tasks, so that three of us focused on digging the holes while the fourth worked with Bee Brook on planting the trees and supporting and caging them. In this way we managed to plant 15 trees – five each of hawthorn, lime and maple. Special mention in dispatches should be made of Mark ‘the digging machine’ Austin, who single-handedly excavated as many holes as his two colleagues (we dug eight holes each but had to fill one in and start again elsewhere when we came across a mysterious and unexpected pipe!). The project will be completed, hopefully in January 2021, with the planting of the last 15 trees, which are yet to be delivered. There will then be 82 trees, reflecting the number of men whose names are on the town war memorial. It is hoped that notices can then be erected explaining to users and visitors the purpose and nature of the park. Richard Hawkes 22  December 2020

Having combined the delivery for our various orders, we had a delivery of 40 trees from Barchams, the tree growers near Ely.  These were unloaded off the lorry and look in good shape. They consist of trees for the Memorial Park, which we hope be planting next week with help from a contractor, trees for the Hatfield Road estate, which are a project funded by Eastlight Community Homes (previously Greenfields) and Witham Town Council, and some additional trees for around Witham. We hope to be planting some Bramble Road and other trees on Friday.  One of these – a Celtic Maple – is already 5m tall, so should instantly create quite an impression. Eric Teverson 17th December 2020

We have probably finished our tree watering for the year, with autumn on the horizon and some rain actually falling recently. We have been out watering about 18 times this year, using our “new” bowser, holding around 1000 litres.  This year, the first fill of the morning has been used to water the 53 trees of the newly planted Memorial wood, with a refill used to water other trees that we planted both last year and in the previous year as well as few others that were struggling. That means we must have watered around 36,000 litres, or 3,600 watering cans onto our 100 or so trees. Which is about 1,800 tree waterings. We have had a couple of failures, one of which is in the memorial wood, so should be replaced in the coming planting season.  And next year, we should be out doing it all again!   Eric Teverson September 2020

Despite some rain and cooler temperatures during the week we were out watering again on Friday.  This included the Memorial Wood between Flora Road and Bramble Road, the first time we have watered this as previously it had been watered by contractors from Braintree Council.  The 50 plus trees were watered in around 30 minutes with about 20 litres each. We then refilled the bowser and set off to water our other trees planted over the last 2 years to include Bramble Road play area, Spa Road, Trent Road area, Cuppers Close, Epping Way and the Recreation Ground. With the trees we have planted and a few others we noticed struggling, this added up to around 100 trees, our greatest number so far.  Next week we should be doing it all again. Eric June 2020

As far as the trees that we had planted were concerned, we were grateful for the wet winter. It should have settled them in nicely. However, in this side of the country all wet weather seems to come to an end. With no rain for some weeks and no rain forecast for some while, in combination with hot sunny and windy weather, we were concerned that many of our newly planted trees would not survive. Thanks to Braintree council, watering of the WW1 memorial wood trees has been subcontracted out for May and June. With the easing of the lockdown we have started watering again and our new blue bowser is easier for social distancing as it has 3 water outlets. Consequently, we are watering mainly the trees that we planted during the winter of 2018/19, with only a few from last winter. All has gone well so far, with trees growing well, despite the weather. Around the town, we are concerned for the trees planted by developers and others as often they do not have an effective watering regime in place. Although they will normally replace trees that have failed, with no watering, the replacements may not survive and it is sad to see trees that have been grown and planted dying through lack of watering. Eric May 2020

All our trees have now been planted and we would normally have enjoyed planting our last tree for the season, but the sleet, rain and wind rather reduced the element of enjoyment! Today we planted a single Tulip Tree – a replacement for a tree that failed in The Avenue. We did, however, abandon some other tree related work, waiting for a more pleasant day! Last week we planted just two trees, a Tulip Tree, again as a replacement for one that had failed after someone had attempted to set fire to it. Fortunately, one of our few failures and one of a very few that have succumbed to vandalism. We may have to wait a few years before it to flower, but something to look forward to. Also, last week we were able to assist the Trefoil guild plant a Larch in the Recreation Ground off Maldon Road. The site had been approved by Braintree Council and completes a trio of trees. This celebrated 60 years for the local Trefoil Guild.  Another 60 years and this will be a mature tree to be admired. This has been a memorable year, having planted over 60 trees, including the 1st World War memorial wood with funding from Witham and Braintree councils as well as various other sponsors and the weather – apart from today – always looked favourably on us. We are now committed to an extensive watering programme for the summer and, as far as the trees are concerned, some rain would be very much appreciated. Eric 27 February 2020

Almost the Last Plantings for this Season We are coming to the end of our planting for this season. On 6 February we added three more trees to the Witham townscape. In the field next to the Spring Lodge car park we planted a celtic maple, more familiarly known as a sycamore (sponsored by Mrs Bradbury in memory of her mother), while in The Avenue we planted a tulip tree on one side and, on the other, an elm (sponsored by Miss Bray in memory of an old friend). We have one more tree to plant, though we continue to keep our eyes out for any ‘late season bargains’. Richard Hawkes 6 February 2020

Now that work at the WW1 Memorial Park between Bramble Road and Honeysuckle Way is ended for the current season, on 30 January we turned to our own planting sites. Witham Town Council has not been able to make funds available this year on the same scale as previous years and the Group therefore has fewer trees to plant (and four have already been planted as part of the Memorial Park). Given the scale of the planting at the Memorial Park and the fact that the Group must water all new trees through the spring and summer, as well as the trees planted last year, this reduction in activity will fortunately only have limited impact. The only significant planting site for these trees this year is off Flora Road, near the junction with Powers Hall End. This is a large grassy area, comparable with the site of the Memorial Park, but our plans for the Flora Road site are much more modest! On 30 January we planted five hornbeams in a curving line parallel with the road. They are fastigiate trees, which means that they will not form a wide crown. In addition, we planted a tulip tree in memory of Mrs Irene Petrie using funds provided to the Group under her will. Although Mrs Petrie had not left the funds specifically for this purpose, we thought it an appropriate way of expressing our appreciation for her benefaction. Finally, we often receive comments from local residents while we are planting. Most are supportive but some are not. On this occasion a resident whose garden backs on to the site came to express his reservations about the choice of location. Having done so, he then served us with cups of coffee, which were very much appreciated! Richard Hawkes 30 January 2020

On 23 January we reached the end of planting on this site for the current planting season, adding 7 more trees to bring the total to 53. By our recent standards this was a modest target and, with the excellent assistance of April, Dan, David and Lloyd from Aegon Ltd, all the trees were planted, supported and caged well before lunchtime. The budget allocated by Braintree District Council for this purpose in 2019/20 is now exhausted but funds are available in 2020/21 to complete this important project. With the majority of the trees already planted, we shall be aiming to get as many as possible of the remaining trees in the ground before next Christmas. Meanwhile we will take on the significant additional task of watering all the existing trees through the spring and summer. We turn now to planting in various parts of the town the trees funded by Witham Town Council. Richard Hawkes 23 January 2020

We completed Phase 1 of the creation of the WW1 Memorial Park on 11 December 2019 – 25 trees planted, supported and caged. On 16 January we moved on to Phase 2 – adding 21 more trees. In a winter of frequent rain and high winds we hit good weather for the third planting day running. Let’s hope our luck holds. Once again we were ably supported by Will and Ollie from Bee Brook, contracted by Braintree District Council to transport the trees and associated equipment and take the lead in supporting and caging the trees once planted. We also had much appreciated help again from Aegon Ltd, in the shape of Becky and Alex this time, We have had help from various members of Aegon staff over the years and none of them has ever given less than their all or complained of the hard work or the mud. Becky and Alex certainly added their names to this roll of honour! This time we also had the help of 10 students from Rickstones Academy. As we watched the group of 13 and 14 year olds approaching the site, we wondered among ourselves just how much help these young people were going be. We shouldn’t have worried. What the students lacked in bodily strength they more than made up for in effort and enthusiasm. Not only did they seem to be having a lot of fun but they really helped to get the job done. By the time they left after three hours’ hard work – leaving behind good memories and an eerie silence – all 21 holes had been dug and 13 trees were in the ground. Many thanks to the Rickstones All-Stars: Zach, Alfie, Madison, Jessica, Carter, Adam, Hadley, Christopher, Lewis and Louis; we couldn’t have done it without you!  Thanks also to Lisa from Rickstones Academy who accompanied the students. Becky and Alex had also had to leave us at this time, muddy but unbowed. After a quick break for lunch, we set to and finished planting the remaining trees and supporting and caging all those still unfinished. This time we did not abandon our valued colleagues Will and Ollie to finish the work. By 3 o’clock all the trees were planted, supported and caged and we limped off the site with a real sense of achievement. The Memorial Park now extends from Honeysuckle Way to Bramble Road and there is ample space to to insert the additional trees to complete the Park while leaving the great majority of this large area for the recreation of local residents. We will be liaising with Braintree District Council to decide what further work should be undertaken in this planting season and we have had an encouraging discussion with Witham Town Council about the erection of signs explaining the the Park and its purpose. A new Witham landmark is well on the way. Richard Hawkes 18 January 2020

On 5 December 2019, a hundred years and six months after the formal ending of the First World War at the Treaty of Versailles, work began on the open ground between Bramble Road and Honeysuckle Way to create a living and long term memorial to those men of Witham who gave their lives in that bloody conflict. The opening of the World War 1 Memorial Park project, devised by Braintree Council, with the support of Witham Town Council, and led by the Tree Group was marked by the attendance at the start of the day of representatives of the two Councils – Councillor Gabrielle Spray of Braintree Planning Committee and the Mayor of Witham, Councillor Clare Lager, together with officers and members of the Witham Branch of the Royal British Legion. It had been planned that students from the Maltings and New Rickstones Academies would assist the Tree Group in the first day’s planting but in the event this was not possible. This left seven members of the Group and the Braintree officer who is leading the project to carry out the work, with support from two staff contracted by Braintree from Bee Brook to support and cage the new planting. It was clear that the original plan to plant 25 trees on this first day would have to be scaled back, given the unexpectedly reduced resources, but estimates of what could be achieved varied from the pessimistic to the wildly optimistic. In the event we ended up decidedly at the highly optimistic end of the scale. It was hard going, particularly as half the trees were oaks with an unusually large rootball requiring appreciably wider and deeper holes, but by 1 o’clock 14 and a half holes had been dug with trees in 12 of them. However, by that time we were all very much feeling our age. Fortunately at that moment the cavalry arrived in the form of Bradley, Chloe and Emma from Aegon Insurance, as promised and on time. With their enthusiasm and skill, and despite having to dig the last hole (a large one for an oak of course) in the one really difficult patch of ground which we had encountered, they helped us get 6 more trees in the ground before the light began to fail. As we dragged weary limbs off the site, leaving the excellent Will and Ollie of Bee Brook to fit the last few cages in the half dark, we agreed that 18 trees planted was a very satisfactory achievement. But it was not of course what we had planned and so we will be back again on Wednesday 11 December to finish this first stage of the project. The second stage is on 16 January 2020, when we hope to plant another 25 trees. Then we will carry on until there is at least one tree for each of the more than 80 men from Witham who were lost in the First World War. Whether we can complete the Memorial Park in this planting year or will have to defer some of the planting until next year remains to be seen. Meanwhile, if anyone would like to help us on future planting days for this project, do contact us through this website. Richard Hawkes 6 December 2019

In 2018 it was proposed to create a memorial wood to mark the centenary of the end of the Great War. The scheme, which would have entailed the planting of a large number of very small trees, was abandoned due to very dry weather conditions. Watering and maintaining such a large number of small trees in our (usually) very dry climate here in central Essex would have been very difficult. An alternative scheme has now been put in place. Designed and largely financed by Braintree District Council, we will now be planting a Memorial Park of around 100 trees in the area of open space between Honeysuckle Way and Bramble Road. The planting will be carried out in two distinct phases which will probably extend into the 2020-2021 planting season. The first will provide a main structural outline made up of 25 semi-mature trees. The second phase will infill with smaller trees. All trees to be planted will be native species such as oak, hornbeam and field maple. Planting will get under way on Thursday 5th December with volunteers including students from Maltings and New Rickstones Academies, the British Legion and local business Aegon providing much welcome support to members of the Witham Tree Group. Next summer will provide an additional challenge for members of the Tree Group. To cope with the extra demand for our watering services we have acquired a larger bowser which will enable us to provide weekly drinks of around 20 litres for each of our newly planted trees. It is perhaps no better way to remember those who gave their lives in The Great War to secure a better future than to plant trees to help mitigate the impact of climate change for the benefit of generations to come. Allan Waight WTG Deputy Chairman 1 December 2019

Our trip out this morning consisted of two parts.  First was a maintenance run to the trees planted along the River Walks by Ebenezer Close.   We had planted three Black Poplar trees between the path and the rough grass area, leading down to the river. While these trees were only planted three years ago, two of them are already looking like substantial trees.  Consequently we thought it time to remove the cages; the first of our Witham Tree Group planted trees to be uncaged by us.  Cages and posts were removed, trees weeded and mulched.  Given another few years and these trees will be making a significant contribution to the Witham Treescape. Secondly the group went on to plan where we can plant the Witham Town Council funded and other trees for the next year.  This had become somewhat delayed due to planning for the large planting in association with Braintree District Council in November.  However various sites were identified and while we were standing discussing possible species for planting, a local resident and dog walker came up to us to say that they would really like some trees planted in the area, before knowing that we were indeed a tree planting group – always an encouraging sign! The provisional sites for this season’s winter planting are on Braintree District land, so approval will now be sought from them before proceeding to the ordering and planning of the planting stages. Pictures of these three impressive Black Poplars along the River Walk can be seen in the photo gallery. Eric October 2019

With the watering season finished, we thought it wise to reassess our previous plantings. As we only normally water for two years after planting, we do not often get the chance to look at our previous efforts.  We did indeed start at Pastures Road, but mainly to assess the planting done by Kings – the trees in the big square cages – that are near the old railway line. The Limes are growing well, but the Liquidambers and Silver Birches have mainly died. The last two hot dry summers seem to have finally defeated them. We will be looking to have these replaced in some way in the future. The new London Plane tree that was planted earlier in the year appears well and is, hopefully, getting its roots down deeper into the ground. Off to the Park and the Cricket Ground, which was generally good news. One of the posts and cages were broken by the play area, so this was removed and replaced by a single slanting post. Several planting tubes from whips were also removed. Along Town End Field the Alders were establishing nicely and the Dutch Elm Disease resistant Elm has already grown into a substantial tree. Some of the tops of the cages were trimmed as they were rubbing on the trees. The Rugby club was a planting of whips along the rear boundary fence, that was watered occasionally after planting and is now beginning to establish nicely, with one Lombardy poplar around 6ft tall though most of the trees are 3 to 4ft. Standards including Oak, Lime, Beech, Poplar and Maple, with some planting in between. Finally, along to the nearby planting from some years ago between the stream and the Humber Road estate. There were two areas of planting with three Field Maples each, planted as large trees as well as a variety of whip planting. The six field maples had established well, needing their cages removed, which was done in the afternoon. Some of the whips were almost as tall, though others had struggled with the local bind weed and other growth. These were generally cleared and overall, it was thought these were establishing quite well. A useful day, though more time is needed to assess other previous planting areas. Eric 3rd October 2019

Our final planting for the season. Two stragglers! Our last two trees of the season were replacements for previous trees that had been planted, but not survived for various reasons. Our tree transporter trailer was loaded for the last time and with both trees in leaf, the London Plane was beyond the back of the trailer as this was a tall tree already at around 16ft. These had been supplied to us by Braintree District Council and did not come from Barchams, our usual supplier. First off the trailer was the London Plane at Greenfields. This was to replace an Oak that had been planted as part of the big planting project the group was involved with some years ago but had died last year. Worryingly, several other trees planted at the same time nearby are struggling considerably or have died. First to remove the old tree, which despite having been in the ground some years, still seemed to have poor root structure, possibly caused by being too root bound in its container before planting and the roots failing to grow into the surrounding ground. Also the clay soil it was planted into appeared completely dry and very hard. We struggled to dig the hole deep enough for the new tree, even the crowbar making little impression! However, planted it was and with our usual watering tube inserted so that we can get water down under the plant to encourage new root growth to go down. The second tree was then taken down to the planting area across the stream from Asda. This was to replace a Horse Chestnut, like for like, with one that was had planted a couple of years earlier, but that had been destroyed by a digger when the stream was being cleared. This was easier planting, so while it was being planted we swapped trailers for the water bowser which we part filled and went back to water the London Plane we had planted at Greenfields. Hopefully this will give it a fighting chance for the coming weeks. Eric May 2019

Today we returned to Bramble Road to plant the last three remaining trees from our pre-Christmas order from Barcham’s nursery that have been stored on Eric’s drive since mid-January. Along with a few other trees sourced separately and some replacement trees provided by BDC and WTC, we have planted some 30 trees since the end of January; not bad for a small band of volunteers. People often assume that as a community group we mainly plant small trees and whips and not the substantial 12 foot plus trees that we do plant and which is only made possible by the ongoing support from WTC. We do from time to time plant whips and small trees and will do our best to find a suitable location for trees donated to us but one of the advantages of planting sizeable trees is that we can protect them with wire mesh frames.  That is to say protection against mainly vandalism as opposed to sheep, deer or rabbits! We returned to Bramble Road because the original location we selected for planting revealed an impenetrable layer of hardcore about a spade depth beneath the soil.  Whilst existence of underground utilities like gas, water and electricity can be verified from plans provided by the service companies, remnants of house or road building cannot, so we promptly abandoned this location (after filling back the holes) a little disappointed but not deterred. So with the last of our pre-Christmas order we headed to Bramble Road and planted a hybrid whitebeam – Sorbus Thuringiaca Fastigiata and two field maples Acer Campestre William Caldwell. The whitebeam is leafing up nicely and also in bud and these buds will very soon produce clusters of creamy white flowers. Later in the autumn an abundance of red berries will remain on the tree well into the winter or until they are picked from the tree by the birds.  We have opted for several field maples this year because not only do they have good autumn colour, they are as tough as old boots and have good drought tolerance too. (Nearly every hole we dug this season, the soil was remarkably dry.) And finally, having spotted a good half dozen house martins flying over the alders by Chipping Hill Bridge this morning I can confirm that summer is finally here; despite the bitterly cold weather these last few days! Jane Noble April 2019

At 9.30 this morning Allan had arranged to meet with a technician from Essex and Suffolk Water at Cuppers Close.  The reason for this is because two weeks earlier we very unluckily hit a waterpipe whilst excavating, something that has never happened before in our four year history during which we have planted in excess of one hundred trees. Before any tree can be planted, a series of lengthy processes are undertaken, namely Research, Permission and Consultation.  Allan spends a considerable amount of time researching the area for underground services like gas, electricity and clean water and then seeks permission from the landowner for those sites where no barriers are evident.  Various maps, plans and other information is obtained from the utility companies and permission generally sought from Braintree District Council, although for Cuppers Close this was from Greenfields and subsequent approval from Witham Town Council.  Resident consultation is also carried out where necessary. The plans that we had for Cuppers Close showed the mains to be running underneath the path some 7 metres from where we were actually digging.  So it was rather unlucky to hit the pipe and unfortunate that the plans were, in our experience somewhat misleading.  Upon hitting the pipe, we immediately contacted Essex and Suffolk Water who came out that afternoon to take a look and the very next day to carry out repairs. So back to Cuppers Close this morning, with the technician from Essex and Suffolk who was able to trace the water pipe using some rather high tech equipment that when making a sound (similar to a squirrel’s alarm call!) indicated no pipes underground whilst no sound indicated the opposite. He was very helpful and was able to spray the grass to show where the water pipe runs and thus where not to dig! We were then able to plant three lovely trees, all beautifully in bud and raring to go; Sorbus Thuringiaca Fastigiata (Whitebeam), Acer Campestre ‘Louisa Redshine’ (Field Maple) and Crataegus Laevigata ‘Pauls Scarlet’ (Hawthorn).  Despite our initial setbacks, planting went well and some very positive comments from one Cuppers Close resident were gratefully received. Jane Noble April 2019

The tree planting we wish we were not doing! This week we were planting trees around the children’s play area near the corner of Bramble Road and Flora Road. This was a planting session that was different from usual for us in two ways. Firstly, and very positively, we were joined by two Aegon employees as part of their community action. The extra assistance not only helps us but allows them to help in the community and to see the trees they have helped plant grow on into the future. Secondly and less positively, the trees today were replacing trees that had been planted a few years earlier but have not survived. Liquid ambers, that have wonderful red autumnal foliage, had been planted in the large square cages to give shade around the play area, both to reduce temperatures as well as sun exposure for children and young families. Surprisingly we have found that these tend to establish rather slowly, so we have replaced them with 5 Field Maples “Elegant”. These trees are from Barcham’s Nursery in Ely and were supplied by Braintree District Council. They have a good root formation, grown on in their white fabric root sacks, so should establish and grow on well and will be on our route for watering from around May to September. Eric Teverson March 2019

Today’s destination for tree planting was Epping Way where we planted three lovely trees; a Betula Pendula ‘Tristis’ and two Acer Campestre, ‘Louisa Red Shine’ and ‘William Caldwell’. These trees, as with most of our trees, come from a specialist nursery in Ely called Barcham. For the last year or so they have been grown in white fabric bags designed to help the roots develop a fibrous structure and avoid being coiled around as often happens in solid pots and this gives better root development after planting.  Bartram’s trees are always good quality healthy trees and we get them in over 12 feet tall. The life of our trees starts off in a field in the Cambridgshire Fens where they are initially gown before being potted up at the nursery and placed in their respective slots in a tree line to further develop the root system prior to sale. After being transported to Witham they have spent the last few weeks (since 17 January) carefully stored in Eric’s back garden before reaching their final destination, today this being Epping Way. The planting of a tree, especially one that has been containerised for some time, feels to me like releasing a caged animal into the wild!  Maybe over the top, but it is such a pleasure to introduce a tree to its final home where hopefully it will grow and flourish for very many years to come. Betuala Pendula ‘Tristis’ known as the Weeping Birch is one of the most graceful pendulous trees available. Having characteristic Silver Birch bark as it matures its twiggy branch network is particularly stunning in winter. The Field Maple Acer Campestre ‘Louisa Red Shine’ has the significant benefit of producing new growth which is bright crimson before turning to a deep green as the growing season progresses and will give a fantastic display of contrasting foliage.  ‘William Caldwell’ too will provide good autumn colour turning orange and sometimes red on acid soils and buttercup yellow on alkaline soil. Jane Noble March 2019

Eden Close was our destination today for planting Field Maple (Acer Campestre ‘Elsrijk’) and Ornamental Pear (Pyrus Calleryana ‘Redspire’), two species that look particularly good in the autumn and are also good for bees. With only the four of us on hand this week, we decided to limit planting to just two trees and then do a bowser run to water in all those trees we have planted so far this year.  Watering is advisable for the first two summers after planting even if it has been raining! Luckily the rain held off; the weather being cool and windy at the outset and decidedly more blustery later on.  We set off at our usual time of 9.30 and about an hour later had finished planting both trees.  We headed back to Eric’s to swap the empty trailer for the bowser and filled this up with water from the river at Armond Road; for which we have council permission.  The tank holds about 500 litres and armed with two cans each we gave each tree three full cans of water; ‘two in the hole, and one at the base’;  the ‘hole’ being the watering tube that we put around the bottom of the hole when we plant. By midday we had emptied the tank and watered about 15 trees of which some were budding up nicely. With the birds chattering and some already nest building, spring is definitely in the air. Jane Noble Feb 19

This time last year, between 24th February and the 5th March, the Beast from the East brought wide spread snow and sub-zero temperatures and yet on Monday this week, 25th February the UK experienced its warmest February day on record. Today, the last day of February and also the last Thursday of this (wintry?) month the weather was neither of these two extremes, which was fortunate for the WTG who were out landscaping again, this time in Avon and Orwell Walk. Three trees were selected for the Spa Road side of Orwell Walk, being Gleditsia Triacanthos ‘Sunburst’ (nearest to underpass), Acer Planatoides ‘Cleveland’ (middle) and Catalpa Bignonioides ‘Aurea’. A further two trees were selected for the Highfields Road side being Acer Ginnala (just over the hump) and Acer Campestre ‘Elsrijk’ (nearest to Highfields Road). On the Spa Road side the soil was good and easy to excavate but rather dry. On the Highfields Road side the soil was very stony and required more effort to dig out and this too was also dry. We therefore decided to prioritise a bowser run for next week and to water all the trees we had planted over the last few weeks to give them a better chance against the hot dry weather of late. We had headed out with the trailer full of trees at 9.30am and no sooner had Allan marked out the holes, we had managed to plant all five trees by 11.30 – then headed straight to Barry’s car for well earned coffee and biscuits. Next week we have two trees to plant in Eden Close followed by the bowser run. Let’s hope the good weather continues and a bit of rain too! Jane Noble February 2019

Thursday seems to be our preferred day of the week for tree planting.  We tend to plant in February and March when tree roots are dormant and water during the drier months. Fortunately Eric has a trailer, bowser and capacity to store trees, otherwise none of this would be possible.  Not bad for a retired GP. Last Thursday 21 February, Eric, Allan, Barry, Richard, Jane and Graham set out to plant maples; Acer Campestre William Caldwell in Tees Close, Acer Ginnala and hornbean Carpinus Betulus Frans Fontaine in Deben Close and a fourth maple Acer Campestre Lienco on Spa Road (three had been planted the previous week). The day was sunny, cloudy and cool, perfect conditions for working outdoors.  Tree planting can be heavy work what with digging out the soil, driving in the posts and transporting 12ft trees.  But with six of us and three locations we achieved planting our four trees within a couple of hours.  Once we had finished we gathered around Barry’s car for a well earned coffee and biscuits (thanks to Barry’s wife Jean). We shall be out again next Thursday, as we still have 15+ trees to plant that are all currently stored at Eric’s!. Jane Noble February 2019

On Thursday 14 February 2019, Eric, Richard, Allan, Jane and Barry set out for a bit of tree planting. The sun was shining and the sky was clear blue, birds were singing and spring was definitely in the air.  We headed off for Spa Road with a trailer full of trees, posts, wire mesh, irrigation tubes, spades, forks and other assorted tools. Our first task was to remove two dead trees on the Humber Road side and replace them with Holm Oaks (Quercus ilex); two impressive broadleaf evergreen trees that Stanley had sourced at a very good price.  After opening up the cages, both dead trees were fairly easy to remove but one of the supports had been driven very deep into the ground and required a bit more elbow grease and perseverance to remove. One or two Witham residents who were out walking their dogs and getting their shopping stopped to chat; cheered by the glorious spring weather. We then moved further up, to the other side of Spa Road, to plant three Field Maples (Acer campestre lienco).  This involved fresh digging, ramming in supports and fixing wire mesh caging; all straight forward and well practised by us. This year, we are attaching labels informing the reader that this tree was planted by the WTG with support from WTC for the enjoyment and benefit of present and future generations. Jane Noble February 2019

On the last day of January, members of the Witham Tree Group gathered for out first planting session of the year. We have three trees to be planted this morning, and these are ready and loaded onto the tree transporter trailer together with posts and guards. Two of the trees have been sponsored by Tree Group members – a Red Oak and a Purple Beech – whereas the final tree – an English Oak – has come from the tree planting budget of Witham Town Council. Despite the frosty weather, we warm up digging the holes for the two sponsored trees and then manage a coffee break, before moving off to Bramble Road for the planting of the Oak. This is a replacement for one we planted last year but that did not survive the hot dry weather. Fortunately this was the only tree death from last year’s planting, though we did increase our tree watering significantly because of this loss. Having removed the cage and dead tree, we were able to plant the new Oak in the old planting hole with posts and watering tube intact. More planting sessions are planned for February and March as we have over 20 trees to go. Eric Teverson 1st February 2019

They have arrived. At around 8.30am this morning the lorry arrived from Barcham’s nursery in Ely with our trees to be planted this year. As usual, the trees are always bigger than I remember, even the shortest being over 12ft tall. The trees have been grown in white fabric bags for the last year or so in order that the roots develop a fibrous structure and avoid them being coiled around as often happens in solid pots. This should give better root development after planting. The root balls were well watered, which, while being good for the trees, makes shifting them off a lorry a two person job as they become quite heavy. All 20 plus trees are now tied securely in storage while they wait to be planted out in Witham. Posts and mesh are on order from a supplier on the Witham industrial estate, so Witham Tree Group planting is really underway for 2019. Just the holes to dig, posts and guards to sort… Eric Teverson 17 January 2019       

The watering season having finished, we thought that it would be a good idea to inspect all the trees that we have planted over the last 3 years. As we normally only water trees for 2 years after planting, there were some of the trees planted in our first planting year that we had not seen recently. Nearly all the trees were in good condition and it was like visiting old friends! I think that the 2 chanticleer pears on Colne Chase were especially good in their autumn colour. All the trees were growing well, despite the long dry summer. We undertook some routine maintenance, trimming a few trees with damaged branches as well as lowering a couple of the wire cages where branches had been rubbing on them. Some larger branches will be trimmed after leaf fall when the trees are dormant. The trees needing the most attention were the Black Poplars, both along the river walk by Ebenezer close and the one near Asda. This was because of the amount they had grown, a couple having burst the tree tie support. These ties have been replaced or altered to continue to support the tree. At this rate of growth, these will be substantial trees in the reasonably near future. All in all, an encouraging mornings work. Eric Teverson November 2018  

The locations selected for next year’s tree plantings have been mostly residential. Letters were sent to residents in these areas seeking comments on our proposals. The feedback has been largely positive and with a few adjustments to our original plans we are now in a position to place an order with the nursery for 23 trees to be planted in 9 separate locations. This year’s consultation revealed concerns about possible impact on TV reception, precise location for each tree, its size, in particular in terms of whether it will block light to property, leaf litter and possible damage to parked cars caused by falling branches, and the type of protective cages that will surround each tree. These concerns and one or two others were addressed in correspondence with the individual residents. Our initial consultation letters in future will endeavour to anticipate concerns such as these. We will include a sketch map showing precisely where each tree will be planted. More information will be provided about the growth habit of each tree. And details will be included about our methods for staking and protecting the trees with mesh guards to prevent damage from grass cutters and rabbits. Our aim is always to enhance the environment in which we live. We have seen examples of the wrong tree planted in the wrong place and the impact this can have on nearby residents. Fortunately nurseries have developed over recent years a number of species that are better suited to planting in residential areas. We now have a much wider choice available to us of suitable trees for planting in such areas. Allan Waight November 2018

As Witham Tree Group we are obviously keen to be planting trees and have managed to plant over 20 trees for Witham Town Council for each of the last 3 years. We are, however, also committed to looking after those trees in the following years until they are well established. The biggest part of this is keeping them watered for at least the first 2 years. You may have seen us out and about, usually on a Thursday morning, with our trailer mounted water bowser. First we fill with around 600 litres (130 gallons) of water from the river, with the council’s permission, then off to where our various trees are planted. The usual watering is 2 cans per tree (20 litres, or 4 gallons). These are split between the base of the tree and down the watering tube that we put around the bottom of the hole when we plant. This encourages the trees roots to grow down into the wet soil below. Because this summer has been so dry and hot, we have used almost twice as much water as usual to keep our trees alive. Although one tree appears to have died, all the other 20 or so are thriving. We are now coming towards the end of the watering season and from a trees point of view hope that next summer will be a less “wonderfully hot and dry” year. Interestingly, we have watered over 10,000 litres or 2,250 gallons onto trees this year, or around 1000 watering cans full! Eric Teverson September 2018