On September 26th from 7-9pm Ben Moss from Chew Valley Plants Trees (CVPT) and John Chew from Avon Needs Trees (ANT) will be sitting alongside each other in a live panel about planting and caring for trees in the area. This is an open event which will also be a place where people can network with others in the Chew Valley who are keen to do their bit to help increase tree cover, protect existing trees, hedges and woodlands and encourage biodiversity in the area.

This side by side working with Avon Needs Trees is now becoming the norm for Chew Valley Plants Trees as we ‘lean in’ to the brilliant work happening at Great Avon Wood, right on our doorsteps. Jackie from CVPT recently attended a conservation day; “it was really lovely to spend a day in such beautiful surroundings, down on my knees weeding the mulch mats and checking the stakes and guards to ensure trees I planted last Autumn survived the hot summer. As well as enjoying seeing the first leaves in evidence, the overall ambience of the event was so uplifting, with a large team making light work of the tasks in hand. I met some really interesting people, enjoyed the way the wild grass is beginning to develop towards being wildflower meadows and abundance of pollinators. I came away really inspired”

Members of CVPT also went to an ‘All things Trees: species identification day’ at Great Avon Wood led by local ecologist Neill Talbot, where they had the opportunity to see a variety of native trees and find out the difference between Wych Elm and Hazel and different varieties of oak and willow. The highlight of the event was visiting the Publow Oak, thought to be 700-800 years old and still in full leaf.

As we head towards the planting season there will be more opportunities to volunteer and learn at Avon Great Wood so keep an eye on the ANT website for more information: https://avonneedstrees.org.uk/

ANT & CVPT will also be sharing stalls at local events so please do visit if you can:

September 9th: Chew Stoke Harvest Home: Ogbourne Fields BS40 8QB from 12 noon. More info here: http://www.chewstokeharvesthome.org.uk/

September 26th: Public Meeting: East Harptree Theatre, Whitecross Road, BS40 6AA 7-9pm A networking event with input from the Chew Valley area forum Nature Protection and Sustainable Transport Groups, B&NES Green Homes Open Day, and a tree planting panel event featuring CVPT & ANT.