Thanks to efforts from Howard, our former Chair, EETAB has successfully relocated almost 400 saplings from our local tree nursery to the Aspect Nature Reserve near Crawley. These were trees for which we had been unable to find suitable local sites within Epsom and Ewell but as a result of successful rehoming efforts has now resulted in more trees in the ground as well as space at our tree nursery.
Contributing to Wildlife and Education
Aspect Nature Reserve is a 50-acre site near Gatwick. It was established to preserve and protect the local flora and fauna, and also to provide a free resource for local schools and community groups to use for their educational activities.
Our contribution began in February when our former Chair, Howard, delivered 175 Oak and 21 Downy birch saplings which were planted as part of a new hedgeline at the reserve. Later, in October, a similarly large delivery of 200 Oaks and downy birch also found a permanent home at the site.
They had all been local donations to us and we had cared for these trees for between one and four years. This involved potting the saplings on into larger pots as they grew, and keeping the pots weeded and well watered during the hot weather. Our small team of volunteers did a great job at looking after them. We are pleased to see our trees used for such important habitat enhancement, helping to re-establish a long hedgerow. This process also involved 120 Year 7 pupils from The Gatwick School as part of their educational visit to the reserve.
This successful transfer has brought our local tree nursery stock to a much more manageable level. This is a crucial step for EETAB, as it allows us to focus our resources on bringing on specific tree species for upcoming projects and finding sites for street trees and other plantings right here in the Epsom and Ewell community. You can read about the planting event [here] and follow Aspect Nature Reserve on Facebook and Instagram to see how the trees are doing.
Next Steps for Local Trees
We look forward to sharing details of our next local tree planting projects soon, made possible by the successful management of our nursery stock.