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Phase II took place on 6 and 8 October, 2000 Coopersale and Theydon Garnon and Coopersale schools turned up again, with around 50 children participating plus a small select group from the Friends (15, including 5 grandchildren out of a membership of over 1500!!!) All involved had an enjoyable and productive couple of hours. One apparently serious suggestion that confronted us this Autumn was that none of the oak trees around the area or in nearby Lower Forest had any acorns on them! Panic Stations!?!? Not at all. We used Hornbeam seeds supplemented by Midland Hawthorns and a bag of acorns contributed by Tricia Moxey. We planted them directly into the ground this time, which, given the amount of rain recently, was nice and soft! A swift examination of the Fields indicated that masses of tiny oak trees are coming up and not all from the plantlets we planted in March! Nature, in the shape of Jays and Squirrels, is proving a valuable ally in our efforts. Thanks are due for help, advice and support to Ian Cox - the Conservators Forester and Alan Bilous, one of his assistants. The latter marked out the planting pattern and will organise the spraying to suppress adjacent grasses and maximise our seeds' chances. Millennium Wood : Update March 2000 The acorns and other seeds collected by volunteers from the Friends and pupils from Coopersale Primary and Oakhill Primary last October have rested all winter in beds of silver sand in metal drums in The Warren. The majority have progressed satisfactorily and time (as well as they) is ripe for planting out. There should be enough to cover 3-4 acres, which should give the project a fine start. The two schools have been invited to take part in phase two of the exercise (the planting) on Friday 10th March in planting on that afternoon. Others who have expressed an interest in doing their bit (and their families and friends!) are invited to come along the following Sunday 12th March at 10.30am, with their dibbers, to join this phase. Cars can be parked in the Woodyard car park (turning on the right (south side of road) just after passing St Margaret's Hospital on the B181, coming from Epping. If that car park is full, drive on to the commercial timber yard where permission has been given to park. Further planting direct from acorn collection can be done this Autumn to complete the exercise. An update on the success or otherwise of the project will be posted on the website on Tuesday morning, 2099. probably ;-) Millennium Wood : Update on 29.10.99 Twenty or so volunteers picked up acorn, sloes and haws on October 10th around the Coopersale field 'buffer' land. Afterwards we took the collection to the Warren and under supervision by Ian Cox, Forester/Works Manager, packed them in silver sand in specially perforated metal tubs. On the 15th October groups of children from Coopersale, Theydon Garnon and Oakhill Primary Schools repeated the exercise. A good time was had by all ! During the winter the area to be planted-up will be defined and in March 2000 it is planned to organise a planting exercise. More about this in due course. Many thanks to all those who took part. Proposed Millenium Wood: What follows is an edited version of an article from July 1999's Friends' Newsletter: After meeting with the Superintendent and his Deputy to discuss various mooted projects, we found a sympathetic attitude existed for the notion of a Millennium Wood. This could be situated in fields owned as "buffer" land - (South of Lower Wood and the B181, East of Epping Hospital, bounded to the south by the disused Central Line) - providing there were no substantial local objections. There have been none - indeed it has been welcomed. All that remains is for the Epping Forest and Open Spaces Committee to give its approval. Initially creating an oak woodland is our aim, in the expectation that, in time, other appropriate species will colonise the area. Two local Primary schools are ready to assist in the collection of acorns. Prior to the actual planting of the acorns, the Superintendent and his staff would carefully survey the area and design the shape and extent of woodland. Naturally, we'd want no interference with existing ways and public footpaths! This important Friends project seems to be moving along well. |
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