Scouts plant trees in Foxhill

On Sunday there was a tree planting session in Fox Hill Woodland, Woosehill.

This was organised by 1st Woosehill Scouts, in conjunction with Friends of Fox Hill and Wokingham Council Countryside Services team.

The Friends of Fox Hill have been clearing large areas of invasive Rhododendron Ponticum, which has left the woodland floor very barren. This is due to the way the plant blankets an area and changes the soil composition, making it difficult for traditional plants to re-establish there.

The wood already has a mature canopy cover, but it lacks intermediate under-storey trees and ground level plants.

New young under-storey trees were provided by the Woodland Trust, as part of their community planting programme.

In the bright, warm spring sunshine, over 20 Scouts, siblings and parents turned out to plant over 100 saplings to help restore the woodland.

They planted a selection of species including:

Each tree was given a tree guard to prevent deer and other animals from feeding on the tender shoots.

To further improve the soil and give the young trees the best start, we used a fungi root dip on the roots. This will help re-establish the “wood-wide-web” which is disrupted by the rhododendron.

We even made it into the local news, read more on the Wokingham Today website.

Thanks

We are really grateful to everyone who made it possible:

Pictures

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