Autumn Events Part 2: Autumn Open Day with Tree Planting

With Covid-safe measures in place, we opened our gate last month and invited people to enjoy the woods for our Autumn Open Day.  We used this glorious time of year to celebrate trees, old and new, and we were so pleased that so many of you came to enjoy the season.  We had first-time visitors as well as many who are more familiar with the site, and there was something for everyone to enjoy.  Here we’ll share with you some of the highlights and some photos from the day.

Thanks to our grant from National Lottery Heritage Fund, we are planting various new trees and shrubs in the arboretum this autumn and winter. It kicked-off during our open day, with Jake and Gary taking small groups around the site to plant some new trees that (we hope) will be enjoyed by visitors for many years to come.  

We also launched our latest visitor map at this event – a seed map highlighting some of our trees with particularly interesting seeds and fruit.  Children used egg boxes to collect seeds (and other discoveries) as they explored the arboretum using the map.

Family Forest School sessions throughout the day gave an opportunity to create beautiful leaf art to take home, and the bug hunt sessions were a chance to look more closely at some of the smaller creatures that live amongst leaves and under logs.  

Live acoustic folk music made the event even more special, thanks to the beautiful voice and enchanting music of Dora Darling.  She writes and performs spellbinding music inspired by nature, so her songs of seeds, leaves, sunlight and rivers were just perfect for the occasion.