Over 20 came from wonderfully diverse and aligned backgrounds. We started with the water harvesting system, which I gathered was of interest to many of them and reminded them of the shed opening and gratitude to Greenprint forum for some funding.
Marion introduced us to the Community Garden. The asparagus bed was much admired as were the sweet tomatoes we ate. We turned north to see the beginnings of a modest agro forestry alley system, using vines, willow (both relative failures) and hazel. Let’s go to Wakelyns, for a GreenPrint forum event we said.
Via the Anderson shelter, we enjoyed the view over Holton Pits, and saw the difference the shade of an oak tree made to the struggling hedge saplings. We walked up the south ride looking down the tubes to see if some of the 6,000 trees were dead or alive. Passed the planets, Earth Venus and Saturn the only ones evident (Many Very Educated Men Just Screwed Up Nature), we ventured up to the clay land where the pond still had water. A hibernaculum much admired. Two Black Poplars alive. The Pride of India known to two of the people there (one, Martin Minto, had both successfully grown a few from seed.
Into the wood we went, to admire the cabin built by Graham Norgate from the wood that never left the wood. The oldest area of the wood, the old hornbeams by the two ponds, which may be once used for retting. The joy of the maps from the National Library Of Scotland (one of 1895 no wood and one of 1910 with wood). A quick romp through the oak nuttery woodland to find the two toilets: WW2 mens urinals, and our current beautiful toilet called Clive, decorated with coppice hazel. A useful tree nursery, and some very healthy vines to replace those lost in the drought. We returned via the forest school active that day with 24 forest school facilitators doing some pre term training.
