Good things come in trees
Growing our community tree nursery
Thanks to National Lottery Players and Eden District Council, (now Westmorland and Furness Council) in October 2022 Eden Rivers Trust took control of a plot of land on an allotment in Penrith. The dream? To create an accessible community tree nursery that would open a doorway to conservation; a place where local people, volunteers and community groups could learn about trees and the river and work together; growing and nurturing locally-sourced seeds.
The resulting native saplings will be planted on river conservation sites throughout the Eden catchment; creating food and homes for wildlife; helping manage the flow of water over land and storing carbon.
In this blog, we follow the progress with Jenni, (our Volunteer and Community Outreach Coordinator), the volunteers and community groups who are embarking on this adventure with us.
The Guelder Rose
Volunteers caught red handed at the Penrith community tree nursery! 🙂
2nd October 2024
We caught volunteers red handed at the Penrith community tree nursery yesterday! They were getting busy and getting messy extracting seeds from Guelder rose berries ready for potting up. Who wouldn’t want to see our woods brightened up with its spring blossom, autumn colour and vibrant red berries? A Guelder rose by any other name…AKA guelder rose, dogberry, water elder, cramp bark, snowball tree, European cranberry bush and we’re sure many many more besides. Read more about this amazing plant>
The Hungry Caterpillar
Elephant hawk-moth caterpillars calling into our 'canteen' 🙂
2oth September 2024
We had more Elephant hawk-moth caterpillars calling into our ‘canteen’ at the community tree nursery this morning! This one on a willowherb stem eyeing up a tasty dockleaf. Always a grand idea to keep a few weeds around for hungry customers.
It’s favourite foods include willowherbs, fuchsias, bedstraws and we’re pleased to say, Himalayan balsam; our friend the Elephant hawk-moth caterpillar is a useful ally in our fight against this invasive species! 
Hawk-moths are some of the largest and most recognisable and spectacular moths that we get to see in Cumbria and the Woodland Trust has published a handy guide to ten of the most commonly encountered species. It includes a fantastic image of what our hungry friend will grow into if it eats all of its (our) greens! Hawk-moth guide>
The ERT Tree Group starts here!
The Rowans are Ready! 🙂
September 2024
This weekend, rowan berries look ripe for harvesting and ready for potting but there are a few steps you’ll need to take if you want to see a successful sapling coming out to say hello next spring. First of all…
What do you need to look for?
We’ve seen a bumper crop of them this year but be quick as the blackbirds will be competing for their attention as autumn draws in. You’ll be looking for mid to large trees and the giveaway will be the bright red berries adorning the branches but to be sure you know your rowan from your rosehip, look out for…
Leaves
Rowan leaves are distinctive and therefore easy to identify. The deciduous leaves are arranged alternately, with each pinnate leaf comprising oppositely-arranged leaflets (typically six to eight) and a final ‘terminal’ leaflet pointing out at the end.
Berries
The berries of the rowan tree are one of its most distinctive aspects. Red, orange or even yellow, they tend to measure around 1cm across and come in dense clusters.
Harvesting
Collect the bunches directly from the tree by gripping the branch below the bunch and cutting with a pair of sharp secateurs. Take care not to remove next year’s bud! In this way, no damage is caused to the tree.
Extracting seeds from the berries
Berries can be stored for a week or two provided they are kept in a cool, dry place.
Rowan is not the easiest of the berry fruits to extract seed from, especially if they are under-ripe. Typically each berry will contain four seeds with each clinging to the inner flesh of the berry. It’s a delicate process but you’ll need to get your fingers into the berry and search for the tiny black seeds to tease them out.
Separate the pulp and the seeds into two separate containers. We’ve created a new friend called Rowan in the image to give you an idea of scale!
Planting Your Seeds
Mix your extracted seeds with half compost and half sand. Put a layer of stones in the bottom of your pot for drainage, place your mixture on top and cover with a little sand. Stand in a shady spot outdoors. The pot can remain outside for the winter. Water the pots if they show signs of drying out and protect from birds and mice if they discover your seeds.
And that’s all there is to it! Have a go and become an honorary member of our new Tree Group! Send a picture of your ‘Rowan’ to volunteers@edenrt.org and we’ll add him to the gallery! 🙂
A BIG THANK YOU to TCV The Conservation Volunteers for the brilliant info on their website about growing rowans which we’ve included in the details here. Be sure to visit their website for more info on growing your own trees. We’re all learning as we go along so be sure to share how you get on, what worked and what was a disaster! It’s all good info for our tree growing efforts.
‘Taking the scenic route’ to grow our community tree nursery
Looking in the rear view mirror
March 2024
Jenni, Volunteer and Community Outreach Coordinator celebrates the first year of the tree nursery.
Setting up the Eden Community Tree Nursery – it’s been rather like learning to drive a car – a lot of kangaroo starts, a bit of stalling and swerving, a few emergency stops and trouble with reversing! Now, just over a year later, it’s all very different. Our fledgling tree nursery is blooming. There’s a roof on the shed, a firm surface underfoot, tables to work at, trees lined up in pots, and a beautiful shiny kingfisher logo on the shed.
The tree nursery is little bit of everything – a growing space for locally provenanced trees, an accessible place within easy reach of town, and at the same time, a project for people. All sorts of people, from all sorts of backgrounds. Regular volunteers have turned up in the sun and the rain to shape the plot and nurture the seedlings.
Neighbours have brought gifts of plants and produce, and new friends have donated water butts and snippets of wisdom. School groups, cubs, and local businesses have helped with the work and joined in with the play. Dog walkers chew over the changes by the river of painted ‘thank you’ stones. The bench offers other visitors peace and space and a lunchtime breather.
Ideas have come in barrow loads, along with the sand and the gravel for the path. There is incredible energy and huge enjoyment, talking – even singing! – learning and exploring as we travel the road together and start to ‘see trees, farms, rivers and the whole environment, differently’. There’s been no instructor and no test, but it feels like the L-plates have gone and we’re ready for the next stage of the adventure…
Eyes firmly on the road ahead for 2024
Supporting us on the journey this year is the Garfield Weston Foundation, Penrith Town Council and Persimmon Homes. Their generous support has enabled us to map out a whole programme of growing and engagement at the tree nursery through 2024.
The garage door is now open (so to speak), the sat nav has the destination “Year of the Tree” and we are heading out for 12 months of exploring the world of trees in Eden and the network of opportunities it presents. It’s set to be full, fruitful, fulfilling and a lot of fun. Look out for details of events on our ‘things to do’ page.
Once they’re big enough, the plants that we’ve nurtured will be planted out as part of our conservation activities around the Eden catchment. The first of our young trees went into the ground in November. What a feeling!!
‘It’s amazingly satisfying – you collect seed, grow a little tree and then plant it back into the ground. It’s a full circle!’ – tree nursery volunteer.
There will be more to plant next season – and more people are needed to help with this side of the process.
Get your MOTree!
There’s lots to learn about the trees themselves, so we’ll be dusting off the I.D. sheets and inviting in occasional experts for a monthly MOTree. We’re also offering bespoke sessions through the year for local community groups to get involved, a programme of public workshops, something special to mark the Chelsea Flower Show and an open day for anyone to come and discover for themselves what it’s all about.
Join the team
What started as trip to the corner shop is fast becoming a road trip with multiple destinations rather than a straight race to the finishing line. To make the most of this wonderful journey we need you!
There are plenty of seats for friends old and new. There are regular sessions at the tree nursery – usually Tuesday afternoons and Friday mornings – for growing native trees from seed or cuttings and looking after all the plants.
We are still developing the site itself so there is always a bit of digging or building for anyone who likes to flex their muscles and there are also special features to set up to enhance sustainability and support wildlife and community use at the plot.
We’ve worked hard to make the site as accessible as possible and you don’t need any experience or special skills to join in – just come and say hello when we’re there or get in touch with me, Jenni Payne at volunteers@edenrt.org or call 01768 866788 for more information.
Why not come along for the ride? Perhaps you’ll discover a skill or passion you never knew you had!
Where there's muck, there's ... worms?!
December 2023
The hats have come out! and we’re queuing up for all the physical jobs at the tree nursery to help us keep warm outside now the temperatures have dropped.
Moving our first ‘compost’ heap – to a more convenient spot – has been a revelation. Just a year after we cleared the site and mounded up everything into a head-height mound, we found that the worms and the weather had worked their magic, amazingly starting to break down the problem weeds into something that we might ultimately be able to use.
Tending to the compost heap.
Worms doing their thing in the compost heap!
The heap was a third its original size with a lot of worms – a bed, a clew, a clat, a knot or my favourite, a wriggle(!), tucked in away from the cold.
I don’t know how many of the 27 British species have found their way there, but I do hope that Lumbricus festivus is among them to reinvigorate decomposition over the Christmas break and into our second year.
Tree-mendous Tuesdays at the tree nursery
February 2023
Nearly 2 whole months into 2023 and we’re beginning to get a feeling for just how good this tree nursery could be . . There are rows (and rows) of little trees lined up in pots, trays of prepped seeds waiting for a sliver of spring sunshine to burst into life, painted benches and plant tables, a beautiful hazel hurdle fence, gates that work, a mended shed, a mountain of donated topsoil and snowdrops strutting their stuff on the bank at the front.
Plastic tube to drain water from the tree nursery fence to the newly-dug pond
It was a bit wet over the winter. They said it would be, but none of us thought it would affect everything quite as much as it did. A couple of months of mud and gloop, and ground like a pop-up ice-rink and we’d all had enough. Something had to be done to make the site accessible – so, we dug out an area in the far corner, made a drain to channel the water through and hey presto – we’ve got an extra bit of wildlife habitat and we no longer have to navigate the mud! Well, we are a Rivers Trust after all!
We’ve also started regular Tuesday afternoon sessions (1 pm to 4 pm) most weeks, to make it easier for anyone who is interested to get involved with the project. You can come and join in for 5 minutes or stay for the whole afternoon if you get inspired.
No experience or special skills are needed as there are lots of different jobs that need doing to develop the space and grow the trees – it really is a case of the more the merrier! Please get in touch if you would like more information or pop over on a Tuesday afternoon and to see what we’re all about.
Seeds, seeds seeds!
November 2022
It feels like I should be writing a mega thank you to everybody who came out today, rather than another entry for the blog.
What a day! Wet, windy, sludgy mud everywhere and a mountain of seeds to process from our last collecting trip. It wasn’t supposed to be quite that bad – but despite it all, and the lack of shelter, everybody got stuck into the serious business of popping the seeds out of the hawthorn, guelder rose, holly berries and crab apples that we collected last week. What an amazing bunch!
Prepping the seeds is a long, gentle job – and for some species (like holly) surprisingly smelly! I must admit, I was expecting rebellion in the ranks but in the end, it became a rather mindful experience with a satisfying outcome – pots of little nutty seeds all ready for growing . . .
Season of Mellow Fruitfulness
November 2022
The haul from our first seed collection session – 387 rosehips, 256 sloes and 932 hawthorn berries! Now prepped and bedded down in a mix of sand and compost. This really feels like we’ve kicked off something amazing.
There’s a long way to go but there’s a truly tree-mendous(!!) amount of energy coming into our fledgling tree nursery site. Volunteers have muscled up for digging and shaping and pulling and clearing, removing grass and nettles, rebuilding the shed and rehanging gates.
We’ve had donations of barrels and logs and home-grown saplings to start us off, a mountain of pallets to turn into potting benches and worktables, bags of sand, manure and off cuts of wood and wire to hold it all together.
A massive thank you to all the volunteers, local businesses and individuals who have contributed right at the start of this fantastic project – and of course to the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Eden District Council for initial funding. Let’s get Growing!
