Council campaign grows as allotment owners plant 1,000 trees

A picturesque woodland of 1000 new trees is to be planted in Sheet as part of East Hampshire District Council’s campaign to see a tree planted for every resident in the district.

Volunteers of the Adhurst Allotment Association, more used to tending fruit and veg, have set aside three acres of land near the community allotments on Waterworks Road to plant a mixed woodland.

The trees and planting equipment have been bought from the Woodland Trust with a £665 grant from EHDC Councillor Nick Drew.

EHDC has launched a campaign to see 120,000 trees planted in the district, one for every resident in the district.
Cllr Drew, EHDC’s Portfolio Holder for Governance and Legal, who is also heading up the tree-planting campaign, said: “Planting 120,000 trees will bring a host of benefits for all ages, from protecting our climate to enhancing the local environment.

“It’s fantastic news that The Adhurst Allotment Association, and the land-owners of the Adhurst Estate, have decided to plant a new woodland. As well as the environmental benefits it brings, it will no doubt be enjoyed by generations of Sheet residents into the future.”

The association has taken advice from The Woodland Trust and the South Downs National Park on when and how to plant the trees and on the variety of trees to be planted.

Steve Amos, of the Adhurst Allotment Association, said: “We have around 20 varieties of trees to plant along with the stakes and guards that will protect them in the early weeks.

“It’ll be a lot of work for our members to plant them all but we’ve got willing volunteers from the association and the local Scouts have promised to help out too.

“The new wood will be seen not just by those working their allotments but by walkers and even commuters on the train to London. It’ll be a really magical addition to the village and we are all very excited to get started.”

The majority of the trees will be planted in the autumn although 150 Elm trees, of a type resistant to Dutch Elm Disease, are already in the ground.

East Hampshire District Council’s plan to see 120,000 trees planted in the district is part of its strategy to combat climate changes. It has also pledged to be carbon neutral by 2050.

Find out more about the council’s tree planting initiative online: www.easthants.gov.uk/tree-planting

Media Contact: Will Parsons, East Hampshire District Council Communications Officer, 01730 234030

Photo caption: More than 1,000 trees are to be planted on land next to the Adhurst Allotments in Sheet.

(L-R) Steve Amos and David Petche of Adhurst Allotment Association with Alison and Guy Lubbock, owners and managers of the Adhurst Estate