As mentioned above in the report on the Spa Road planting, our next project was to plant trees alongside the cycle path running from the Rivenhall Oaks estate to link with Motts Lane/Cut Throat Lane by the pedestrian bridge over the railway north of Witham station. Like this year’s planting at Spa Road, this project was funded under a central government scheme administered by the Forestry Commission; the funding for 35 trees was obtained by Essex County Council and the project agreed with Braintree District Council, which owns the land.
We began planting on 22 February in poor weather, when nine trees were put in the ground. Another nine were added on 29 February in even worse weather. That day we had the assistance of volunteers from Aegon Ltd and would have been able to plant more if the rain had not driven us all from the site before we had finished.
This left us with 17 trees to plant, which we assumed would require two more planting days, since, so far as any of us could recall, the most we had planted in one day was 15. However, on 7 March with some dry and even occasionally sunny Spring weather and more volunteers from Aegon, we broke our record and put all 17 in the ground, before limping off the site with a real sense of achievement.
A special word of praise and gratitude is due, as every year, to our friends from Aegon. They are unfailingly enthusiastic in taking on unfamiliar tasks requiring physical effort and commitment and we would not have achieved so much without their help. Added to a long roll of honour this year were Alex, Hannah, Michelle and Tammy on the first occasion and Alex again and Emily, Jake and Masimba on the second.
The trees planted on the site were varieties of elm, ginkgo, hazel, hornbeam, lime, oak, poplar, sorbus. tulip tree and walnut. This completed the planting on the lower section of the cycle path nearest to Witham station. We shall of course be watering the trees through the summer. Next year we hope to have funding to plant alongside the path in its upper section towards Rivenhall Oaks, as well perhaps as adding some trees to the lower section.
On what should be the final day of our planting season, we return to the Spa Road site on 14 March to complete the planting project there by putting the last few trees in the ground.
Richard Hawkes
March 2024
