Walk in the Woods - 18th May

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On 18th May the Tree Council Wardens will be leading a walk around Brotherton Park and Dibbinsdale.

To book, telephone or text Gen on 07979 754011.

National Tree Week

Saturday 24th November - Sunday 2nd December

Recent events have confirmed that the view across the countryside and in our towns is set to change faster than anyone could have expected.  In recent years, pests and diseases have started to threaten some of our most loved trees, such as oak and horse chestnut, but the spread of Chalara fraxinea (ash dieback) and the anticipated devastation of the UK population of ash trees has left everyone considering what the next steps should be. 

National Tree Week was launched in 1975 to maintain the tree planting momentum to replace the losses resulting from Dutch elm disease, which had already wiped out more than 20 million of our most significant landscape trees.  The Tree Council has run the festival every year since, encouraging everyone to celebrate the tree planting season in a variety of ways, not least of which is by planting more trees.  This year, once again, the landscape is being altered. We are facing losses that will change the view out of our windows, from town pavements, country footpaths and across fields and woods. Since trees make a difference to so many aspects of life, wildlife and biodiversity – and that includes people – will be affected. We need to act to change our view, both figuratively and literally.

“Anyone with land of their own, whether a garden, woodland or field, can make a difference to their view by adding a tree”, said Pauline Buchanan Black, Director-General of The Tree Council. “This year, though, the campaign carries particular significance as we look for ways to minimise the impact of ash dieback and carefully consider what to plant. Rising concern about tree diseases has also reminded us of the importance of checking not only where the seed of their tree started life, but also where it was germinated and grown. Not since Plant A Tree in ’73 has there been the same urgency to safeguard a view for the future”.

Alasdair Douglas, Chair of The Tree Council, added “It is almost exactly 40 years since Secretary of State for the Environment Peter Walker stood up in the House of Commons and announced that the following year was to be designated National Tree Planting Year. This was the Government initiative to encourage the planting of new trees to replace those millions killed by Dutch Elm Disease. The Tree Council was formed from that initiative and has been running National Tree Week ever since. We couldn’t have foreseen that we’d be faced with the losses from a tree disease of similar epidemic proportions just as we go in to National Tree Week but this seems a timely moment to ask the public to think carefully about what will happen to their view and what they will do to restore it for future generations.”

Visit The Tree Council's website for details of local events and tips on tree planting and aftercare. Event information is also available from the Tree Council infoline, 020 7940 8180 (during office hours).

Seed Gathering Season

Nights are drawing in and the view from the window is changing as the leaves turn golden and the berries and seeds ripen. Are you one of those people lucky enough to look out of your window and see a tree? That tree is telling you the season is shifting; its stark, leafless form will re-enforce the arrival of winter and herald the arrival of spring as its leaves begin to open. Even in the centres of our largest cities, trees provide this link to the natural world, making them vital parts of our urban landscape. However, we can often take our trees for granted, only realising how important they were in their local landscape when the tree has gone.

The Tree Council is calling on everyone to change their view. On 23rd September, they launch the start of the tree year with Seed Gathering Season. Over the next month most of our trees will produce seeds and fruit and using this seed to grow yourself a free tree is the easiest way to literally ‘Change Your View’. Coordinated events and informal activities are taking place all over the country, but you can just as easily do it on your own. Just take a walk in town or country to collect seed to pot up and grow into small trees that can then be planted out next year.

Of course, seeds are food as well as potential trees – for humans and for wildlife. Make the most of the autumn harvest by gathering berries, nuts and fruit to eat and make into delicious autumn treats – just make sure that there is plenty left over for the creatures that depend on them to get through the winter.

If you want to be sure that you are picking the right things in the right places, there are planned events, run by The Tree Council's member organisations, its volunteer Tree Wardens and other supporters, currently taking place throughout the country. Further information, and a free poster to download, can be found on the Tree Council's website.

Landscape Wardens

Cheshire Landscape Trust has been successful in being awarded a grant from the Big Lottery Fund’s Awards For All scheme to run a new project called Landscape Wardens. This is building on the success of the Tree Warden scheme that the Trust has run across Cheshire for over 20 years and hopes to build on this work by encouraging people to take a greater interest in the landscape around them.

Cheshire Landscape Trust are inviting people to get involved with the new project and learn more about the local landscape – how to read it, record it and look after it. The Landscape Wardens project will initially be centred on 2 very different parts of Cheshire, urban Ellesmere Port and the largely rural area of Broxton in south Cheshire, to give a good overview of the wide range of landscapes in the county.

The first events will be an introduction to the project and a chance for people to get involved with future events. These two initial events will take place in Ellesmere Port on Saturday 29th September and at Bickerton Village Hall on Saturday 6th October. Both events will be from 2 to 4 p.m.

Following events will include the chance to learn about Landscape Character and how this helps you to read your landscape and everything in it. There will also be a workshop on wildlife habitats and practical things that can be done to look after them. All the events are free with refreshments provided.

If you would like to get involved then why not go along to the event on Saturday 29th September at West Cheshire College Campus or on Saturday 6th October at Bickerton Village Hall and become a Landscape Warden.

Orchard Pruning

Wirral Tree Wardens would like to invite you to the second guided pruning session at Brimstage Orchard, behind the Country Mouse, Brimstage Hall.

The work day will take place on Sunday 19th February between 1.30 and 4pm. It is free to members of Wirral Tree Wardens, Wirral Environmental Network, Wirral Wildlife and BTCV as all these organisations have members committed to the Orchard and its care.

If you would like to book a place, please call or text Gen on 079797 54011 or send an email.

If you are not a member of a group mentione, a fee of £15 is payable by individuals who wish to learn pruning skills but cannot commit to spending time on the orchard. (Sessions in future years would then be £25).

Last guided pruning session attracted 18 people, all of whom agreed to commit 6 hours a year and therefore no-one was charged. 36 trees were pruned and everyone enjoyed the learning experience.

Please wear old clothes and sensible work boots and, if you have them, work gloves. If you have good secateurs and loppers, please bring them and we can sharpen them on site if needed.

Genevieve Woodland

Wirral Tree Warden co-ordinator

Learn about fruit tree pruning

Wirral Tree Wardens invite you to a Guided Pruning session at Brimstage Orchard.

10am - 1pm Country Mouse, Brimstage on the 21st of January.

Please book your place by calling 652 5135 or 079797 54011. Anyone wishing to join WTW is welcome to apply when booking their place.

Costs:

Free to Wirral Tree Wardens, £15 to subsided people (wishing to donate 3 or more hours a year to Brimstage Orchard), £25 to people who just would like to know how to prune.

Members of WEN can attend the Brimstage orchard event on Saturday free. Non-members can become members on the day.

Tam O'Shanter Apple Day

Following our two successful Apple Days at Brimstage Hall and Eastham Country Park (there is a slide show on our website) we helped the Tree Wardens with their Apple Day at Tam O'Shanter Farm.