Improving our Environment and Boosting Biodiversity

The Parish Council would like to say a huge thank you to all the local volunteers who helped prepare the ground and plant a new hedge along the western edge of Dunnington Cemetery in Eastfield Lane. Our initial plan of a big working party was quickly changed to working in pairs over a much longer period to comply with Covid-19 requirements.

This project was generated by the enthusiasm of Juliet, Steve and Derek who are keen to promote more tree planting in our area. They presented some ideas at a Parish Council meeting last year and we agreed to look at the land that we owned. The Cemetery Group was tasked with taking this forward and planting is almost complete.

The Woodland Trust provided two large hedge packs free of charge – a total of 820 saplings. A Wildlife Pack plus a Year-Round Colour Pack were chosen so the range of plants includes hawthorn, dogwood, wild cherry, silver birch, rowan, hazel, blackthorn and common oak. Some saplings will also be used to in fill in the gaps on the eastern boundary hedge. In years to come these will not only provide beautiful blossoms and bright berries, they will also supply food and shelter for wildlife.

A new Yew hedge was also planted running east to west to mark out the phase two section of the cemetery. This has been funded by a Ward Grant from City of York Council.

Most of the planting was done over the weekend of 28 and 29 November and although it was a bit damp, the chat was cheery and everyone worked too hard to be cold.

We hope our efforts will inspire residents to think about planting for insects and wildlife the next time a new garden project comes to mind – and if you already do this, thank you.

If you want to know more about what the Woodland Trust can provide, from individual trees to small and large packs, you will find more information here -

https://shop.woodlandtrust.org.uk/tree-mixes-and-packs

In the meantime, the Parish Council will continue to look at more options for parish council land so watch this space!

Liz Turnbull

Chair, Parish Council Environment Group