Thorpe Wood Brought to Life
On Saturday we witnessed a truly fantastic display of community spirit, as people from across the county joined together to collectively plant 2,000 trees in Mowsley, Leicestershire. Bringing ‘Thorpe Wood’ to life.
It is often said that a lot can change in a day and nowhere was this felt more keenly on Saturday than in the unassuming village of Mowsley, where around 60 volunteers came together to make an incredible difference to the local area.
The view from 400 ft showing the scale of Thorpe Wood
Making Plans
All set up and ready to go… Thanks to our very own David Dean for his piloting skills!
I don’t know about you, but my knowledge of tree-planting extended about as far as “dig hole, plant tree” but, fortunately, there were genuine experts involved in the planning of the long-awaited “Thorpe Wood”.
The wood is the brainchild of former owner and Managing Director John A Thorpe, who has long wanted to create a neighbouring woodland to the area planted by himself and others 40 years ago (more about that here).
John, current Managing Director John and the Thorpes Marketing Team, worked closely with both Harborough Woodland and the Woodland Trust, to bring the long-held vision of Thorpe Wood to life, culminating in a plan that was clear, concise and easy to follow, all that was left, was to put that plan into action.
Lights, camera, action.
Thanks to an incredible effort by JMS Landscape and Harborough Woodland volunteers in the run-up to the event, we arrived on Saturday morning to a wonderfully prepped area, with colour-coded stakes denoting which species of trees were to go where - things simply could not have been simpler.
But, that is not to say what was to follow would be easy, far from it, there was the small matter of 2,000 trees left to plant.
Fortunately, we were ably assisted by a veritable small army of volunteers. Many came from Thorpes Joinery, some were Harborough Woodland recruits and several had heard of the initiative happening in their local area and just wanted to help out.
All turned up with a smile on their face, a spade in their hand and cracked on to make light work of what was initially a daunting task.
Tree by tree, section by section, our intrepid group worked tirelessly through the day to ensure every single plant was completed well ahead of schedule, and it is hard not to be extremely proud of the end result.
Thorpe Wood In Numbers
1.2 hectares of woodland created. (Around 2 football pitches).
100 Alder
50 Aspen
100 Crab Apple
150 Field Maple
150 Hornbeam
600 Oak
50 Rowan
100 Sweet Chestnut
150 Wild Cherry
475 various shrub species (Holly, Hazel et al)
60+ volunteers
2 days set up, 6.5 hours planting.
1 brilliant day
To the future.
It goes without saying that the benefits of Thorpe Wood won’t be felt overnight.
Rather, this was an endeavour with future generations in mind. The environmental impact is obvious, with carbon sequestration a key benefit, but this will also impact biodiversity and the local ecosystem, with each tree carefully chosen to benefit indigenous species, and even to encourage certain types of wildlife that were once prevalent in the area to return.
The area also sits on a public footpath, and has a clear route throughout so that the local community can enjoy a countryside walk, or simply find a moments peace in nature.
What we can say in the short term is that it was truly brilliant to see so many people come together to make this a reality, and we would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to each and every person who turned up to help.