Epsom community groups came together on a blustery Sunday in early January to support tree planting at local charity Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA).
475 saplings planted along a 120 metre boundary
When RDA in Epsom approached EETAB for advice and support to plant a boundary hedge on their land we were delighted to support this project.
So on Sunday 8th January, about 70 enthusiastic volunteers converged to plant a 120 metre long hedge. Volunteers came from the Ahmadiyya Muslim Women’s Association, Rotary Epsom and Epsom Common allotments, as well as RDA and TAB community groups. In total, we planted around 475 saplings; these were a mixture of hazel, field maple, hawthorn, hornbeam, willow, rowan, ash, dogwood and dog rose.
EETAB provided saplings from our community tree nursery and also coordinated the planting. We selected saplings for their horse friendliness and also those that would encourage local biodiversity. We are very grateful to local groups who supported with sourcing some of the samplings.
On the day, EETAB members arrived early, laying out plants and preparing the area so that all was in place when the volunteers from other community groups arrived.
Hedge planted!
Despite the wet weather we successfully planted all saplings – many hands make light work!
EETAB will manage follow on care of the boundary hedge. We tried to minimise the use of plastic in the planting, and we also used mulch to keep down grass. Keeping down the grass will also help avoid damage to the trees that may occur when grass is strimmed.
We may also evolve the planting further. Some ideas for future development included incorporating a sensory track and elm specimen trees.
Fantastic community effort
It was fantastic to see volunteers from a range of local community groups coming together to get more trees into the ground, despite some incredibly wet and windy weather.
Thanks to Church of God for sourcing some of the saplings and to 8th/14th Epsom Air Scouts for growing them on.
And finally, thank you once again to all the volunteers who helped!
If you would like to be involved for future plantings please contact us to keep in touch
