Thursday, January 18th, was the coldest morning of the winter, with the temperature well below freezing. However, it was bright and sunny, and our volunteers were well wrapped up.
Our task was to plant six trees in the nature reserve to replace those Ash trees along Ladies Mile that had been infected with Ash Dieback disease and had been chopped down. The new nursery-supplied trees were substantial five-year-old birches, oaks, and limes.
We were concerned that the frozen ground might thwart us but our spades quickly broke through the solid crust. The subsequent toil of digging holes for the root balls soon warmed us up. We hauled the trees into their holes, backfilled with soil, secured the trees with stakes and mulched the ground to suppress weeds. Everything was done in just over an hour, confirming the adage, “Many hands make light work”.
We thank everyone who turned out on such a bitterly cold morning and Jamie White of Cheshire Wildlife Trust for his leadership and expertise.
