Children in schools across Gloucestershire got involved in the Ourboretum project – collecting seeds, growing saplings, and planting them out within the community.
After 3.5 years of planning and delivery, the Ourboretum project has planted out its final saplings.
Beginning as an idea from Chris Sandys at BBC Radio Gloucestershire, Ourboretum was originally intended as a way to encourage communities to think about climate action, and Chris soon joined forces with our CNL team and our efforts to address ash dieback.
The project ambition was simple – to encourage people and communities to grow their own trees from seed, and to plant out the resulting saplings as a ‘virtual’ arboretum across Gloucestershire. And that we have!
Launched in the lockdowns of 2020, the project attracted around 180 participants during the first autumn season. These intrepid growers collected up acorns, beech mast, hazelnuts, then planted them, and nurtured them until they were saplings.
Key statistics from the project include:
- Total saplings handed over for planting = 1,096
- This included 963 oak saplings, 18 beech and 115 hazel
- This is from 84 different participants (groups, individuals, families etc)
- Almost 4,000 nuts were collected and potted up, predominantly acorns
- About 17 primary schools got involved
Some of the locations where Ourboretum saplings are happily growing include Elmore Court near Gloucester, Woodchester Mansion near Stroud, Cox’s Meadow in Cheltenham, Tewkesbury Nature Reserve, Hempsted Recycling Centre, Lydney Park Estate, St Catherine’s School in Chipping Campden and many many more.
Huge thanks to all those who took part – those who collected and grew seeds, those who created ‘holding nurseries’ for the saplings, those who volunteered places to plants the saplings out. This project will be a lasting legacy of community action right across Gloucestershire!