Yesterday evening’s AGM for Branchlines, Great Waldingfield’s Community Woodland, was considerably enlivened by the news that a donation had been received from ‘one large anonymous donor’.
The size of the benefactors of the project aside, I am happy to report that all seems to be going well at Old School Wood. All of the trees have now been planted and, despite the very dry conditions seen recently, it seems that few have had to be replaced. Progress is now being made towards planting wild flowers and bulbs, and a special report at the meeting informed members that children at the school have already benefitted from learning opportunities connected with trips to the woodland that are enjoyed by all.
There are a number of ways to support the continuation of the project. The one that is, I have to confess, least attractive to me is to participate in one of the regular working parties that take place on the fourth Saturday of every month. Alternatively you might ‘adopt a plot’ by paying £25 towards the maintenance of a plot of your choice. There are 117 plots available, of which at the time of writing 25 have already been spoken for. Each plot is 10 metres by 10 metres and includes approximately 11 trees. In return for your generosity you receive membership of Branchlines for a year, plus a certificate showing the site of ‘your’ plot. Depending on where it is, you could celebrate your generosity by having a picnic under one of your ‘trees’. For more information about supporting Branchlines you should contact Brian or Shirley Rose on 01787 376499.
After the business of the meeting we heard a fascinating talk from Edward Martin of the Suffolk County Council Archaeological Service Conservation Team about ‘Woodland in the Suffolk Landscape’. I was very surprised to hear that as early as the time of the Doomsday Book most of the UK had been deforested, and only 15% of the woodland that originally covered the country was still in place. This process of deforestation has continued over the years, although recently the process has been reversed a little. Branchlines itself has made a small contribution to this trend.
I felt that it was an irony that we were hearing from Mr Martin, given the problems that ‘archaeology’ has caused to the Branchlines project in the past, but all is well that ends well!
