Hreod Burna Urban Forest – Page 3 – "So current and future children might scamper, along avenues of crab apple and rowan."

Meet our volunteers – Gaby & Juanjo

Gaby and Juanjo have been regulars at our volunteer sessions since 2020. They have tried their hands at most of the things we get up to, from coppicing to tree planting.

Photo of Juanjo and Gaby planting a tree in the Miyawaki mini-forest. The sapling sits in its pot waiting for Juanjo to dig the hole, while Gaby supervises. — Juanjo & Gaby helping to plant the Miyawaki Forest in 2022

My husband and I walk daily in this lovely forest and are grateful to all volunteers who look after it. Today we spent a very pleasant afternoon with nature-loving people working together for present and future generations.
Planting a tree is one of the most rewarding things one can do. It is a thrilling experience placing the small tree carefully in its place whilst imagining what it will look like in the future when it reaches its full splendour. Today, we planted many trees and this feeling multiplied.
Gaby

Photo of Gaby, spade in hand, standing posing for the camera. — Gaby

Close-up photo of Juanjo putting the finishing touches to a newly planted tree, patting down the soil with his hand. — Juanjo

I walk in the Hreod Burna Urban Forest and The Venny every day, and I feel privileged to have such wonderful spaces so close to where I live.
Volunteering now and then to plant trees, coppicing or just picking litter up while I walk, is my way of giving a bit back for that privilege.
Juanjo

Juanjo has also used his camera skills to document some of our activities. If you’re part of our Facebook group, you might have seen his video fly-through of the Burna during a session spent battling the invading Himalayan Balsam or his montage of one of our coppicing sessions.

Meet our volunteers – Gaby & Juanjo Read More »

Volunteer Stories – Kate

Volunteering / By Andy

Kate returned to help us with the Miyawaki Forest after previously coming out in 2019 to help with the planting of the Cricklade Field. She’s busy with all sorts of projects in the local community around Swindon so it was great to be able to welcome her back to HBUF.

A picture of Kate standing out in the new Miyawaki Forest area, stopping to pose for a photo while digging a hole for her tree to go in

Two enjoyable hours spent in the fresh air and sunshine.
There’s something very satisfying about planting trees. My friend said she likes to imagine who last dug this soil when it was allotments. We thought it most certainly would have been used to grow vegetables during the war years.
To the sound of birdsong and quiet conversation, I imagined what this mini forest will look like long after I’ve gone. Who will harvest it’s fruit or rest in it’s shade?
Yes, a very rewarding couple of hours with the added bonus of a little bit of physical exercise, and great company.
Kate

Our volunteers always go away with a smile on their faces. Why not come along and join in? We have regular sessions on the third Sunday of every month.

If you’d like to round up members of your community, hobby or interest group, or colleagues from work, then we’re happy to arrange one-off sessions for you to do something together as a team.

Volunteer Stories – Kate Read More »

Our Miyawaki Mini Forest

About HBUF, Posts / By Andy

A new creation for HBUF in 2022 is our ‘Miyawaki’ mini forest. Akira Miyawaki was a Japanese botanist and plant ecologist who was interested in how plant species interact with each other within communities. He came up with a technique for restoring degraded land by the very dense planting of native species, planting trees and other native species far more closely together than we would normally do.

We have already planted hundreds of native trees and thousands of wildflowers on HBUF, much of it on what used to be allotments. We decided to put our own twist on the idea, creating a Miyawaki mini forest of fruit.

The mini forest has several layers of fruit, starting with gooseberries and currants down at ground level, with plums, cherries, apples, pears, hazel and sweet chestnut rising above them.

The Miyawaki Forest is nestled between the Orchard and the Wildflower Meadow

We’ve selected a range of different varieties too. Each one is ready to harvest at a slightly different time of year, which should give us fruit throughout the season.

HBUF is here for the benefit of all the community. In years to come you’ll be able to wander through and pick a bit of fresh fruit to go with your picnic.

If you are interested in the idea of a Miyawaki Forest, here are a couple of links that tell you a bit more about it:

Fast-growing mini-forests spring up in Europe to aid climate (Guardian)

The Miyawaki Method for Creating Forests

Our Miyawaki Mini Forest Read More »

Our Mini Forest takes root

Posts, Volunteering / By Andy

February saw plenty of volunteers in action as we planted our Celtic Circle and started work on the Miyawaki Mini Forest.

When finished, the tree circle will have one ‘tree’ for each of the 13 lunar months from the Celtic Tree Calendar. So far we have planted the largest (oak, birch, willow, etc,). By the time we are finished they will be joined by the other plants that make up the Celtic Tree Calendar, including ivy, a grape vine and rushes.

Photo shows five people spread across a grassy field, each planting a tree. — Our Celtic Tree Circle being planted – too big to get into one shot!

The Miyawaki forest is taking shape between the Wildflower Meadow and the Orchard. The volunteers (again!) had a wonderful day for it. Look at that sky!

Under a beautiful, bright blue sky.
Volunteers are spread out across a patch of broken ground, paused in their tree-planting to stop and look at the camera. — As always at HBUF, a glorious day to be out in the fresh air!

It was good to see a mix of new and old faces again.

Ken joined us from the local Scout group, and we hope to have the Scouts themselves along next time to plant some trees that they can watch grow over the years.

There are two things that all our volunteers say when they’ve spent the day with us. The first is how great it is to be out in the fresh air doing their bit for the environment and our local community. The second is how nice everyone else is, we do get a lovely bunch of volunteers at HBUF 🙂

Six volunteers lined up for a group shot for the camera, each leaning on their spades. — Our Miyawaki volunteers

Our regular session for volunteers takes place from 10am to 12pm on the third Sunday of every month. Everyone welcome!

Our Mini Forest takes root Read More »

Volunteer Stories: Chris & Lizzie

Posts, Volunteering / By Andy

Chris and Lizzie joined us to plant our Celtic tree circle in February. Like a lot of people, Chris had been planning to come along for a while, but things just seemed to always get in the way.

Finally the stars aligned…

Lizzie and I came along despite the drizzly weather as we wanted to get some fresh air and do something good for wildlife in Swindon! We had a lovely time digging holes and planting trees with the very friendly group – we’re looking forward to going back to see how the trees we planted are getting on.
Chris

Lizzie got the oak (everyone wants to plant an oak tree!)

The pair say they’re looking forward to coming back again to help out. Not least because it’s a great way to spend a morning, even when the weather isn’t on your side!

If you don’t want to miss out on your chance to get involved, you can subscribe to our mailing list and we’ll let you know what we’re up to each month.

Volunteer Stories: Chris & Lizzie Read More »

Why not be like Mike?

Posts, Volunteering / By Andy

One of the volunteers who came out to plant our Celtic tree circle was Mike, who has been working locally as part of the Borough’s Livewell team.

We asked him to let us know why he’d decided to get involved with HBUF and pose for a quick photo 🙂

“I was thrilled to get my Birch rooted into the ground today even if it was bleak weather. A few years from now it will be interesting to see how the Celtic Circle is developing with the variety of trees likely to bring yet more biodiversity to the Urban Forest, beautiful visuals and some shade in the Summer months.
For me, working in the Livewell Team in Swindon Borough Council, I am always passionate about what the community can generate by pulling together and relying on their shared knowledge to drive towards specific goals. The Hreod Burna Urban Forest is a great example of this, which adds value to nature, the community and provides a setting that can be cherished the many dog walkers of the locality.
Forgetting the professional angle, more than anything, it personally feels good to get together with others who are also keen to be active in investing in the local environment, at a time when it is easy to feel very powerless in the era of climate change and environmental degradation largely led by big, faceless corporations. Having a chuckle with the HBUF gang and contributing to the biodiversity of Pinehurst, will not change the world overnight, but it’s something.
On another note, it is good for fitness. My lats are still aching today!”
Mike

We are always incredibly grateful to people like Mike, who choose to come and help us with the never ending list of work we need to do to look after our little bit of forest. Whether its with the tree planting and maintenance (those fallen trees don’t unblock the paths on their own!) or the less glamourous stuff like litter picking that makes HBUF such a wonderful place for the people of Gorse Hill and Pinehurst to enjoy.

If you’d like to get involved, why not sign up to our mailing list to get updates about what we’re up to, and advanced notice of volunteering opportunities, or join our Facebook Group to share your pictures and stories of your HBUF adventures?

Why not be like Mike? Read More »

Our Celtic Tree Circle

About HBUF, Posts / By Andy

Our tree circle is based on the idea of the Celtic Tree Calendar. The origins of the calendar are uncertain. Some believe that the Druids created this system, while other Celtic Pagans think it pre-dates the time of Druidic influence over Celtic religious matters. The version of the calendar that we are using is widely credited to Robert Graves’ book ‘The White Goddess’

What *is* certain is that it’s a great new feature for HBUF and will be a fantastic talking point in years to come.

The Celtic Tree Calendar splits the year into 13 lunar months, with each one having a different tree associated with it, like the zodiac idea that we’re all familiar with.

Our thirteen trees (actually, they’re not all trees!) are:

Birch	December 24th to January 20th
Rowan	January 21st to February 17th
Ash	February 18th to March 17th
Alder	March 18th to April 14th
Willow	April 15th to May 12th
Hawthorn	May 13th to June 9th
Oak	June 10th to July 7th
Holly	July 8th to August 4th
Hazel	August 5th to September 1st
Vine	September 2nd to September 29th
Ivy	September 30th to October 27th
Reed	October 28th to November 23rd
Elder	November 24th to December 23rd

Our Celtic circle trees

The new Celtic Circle is to the east of our Wildflower Meadow. The image below imagines the trees as they’ll be in a few years… they’re not quite big enough to show up on Google Maps just yet 🙂

If you’d like to check out your Celtic horoscope, or learn a bit about the Celtic Tree Calendar you can find out more on the following sites, which each give their own take:

https://www.learnreligions.com/celtic-tree-months-2562403

https://blog.fantasticgardeners.co.uk/whats-your-tree-sign-according-to-celtic-tree-astrology/

Our Celtic Tree Circle Read More »

It’s time to mow the meadow!

Events, Posts, Volunteering / By Andy

Each year we give the wildflower a bit of a trim. This keeps the grass in check and helps the wild flowers to thrive.

It’s a lot of work, so we need your help!

Mowing the meadow 2020 — Some of last year’s helpers…

If you can spare an hour or two to help us rake up and remove up the cuttings you’ll be doing great things for our little forest and the many visitors who come to enjoy it.

We’ll be working in the wildflower meadow (of course 🙂 ) from 10am on Sunday 29th August. All ages welcome.

Why not bring a picnic, or at least a little something for a well-earned break at half-time.

It’s time to mow the meadow! Read More »

Ah, nuts!

Posts, Volunteering / By Andy

The latest addition to HBUF’s tree collection went in on one of our recent volunteer sessions.

A lot of people have discovered HBUF for the first time during lockdown. It’s easy enough to walk along the cycle path in the Venny without realising that all that Hreod Burna loveliness is just off that path.

Luckily for us, one such person was Charline, who lives within a short walk of HBUF but had only recently learnt about us.

Charline and her family joined us to plant a couple of walnut trees that had originally been bought for their own garden. They had come to realise that the trees weren’t suitable.

Daughter Heidi was first into action, hefting the mattock to remove the turf

Steve was on-hand, as always, to supervise the planting

Bedding in the first of the new arrivals

The walnuts will fit in nicely with a new feature we are planning at the moment. Both trees are on the edge of the wildflower meadow, which already has a small orchard at one end.

In keeping with the existing orchard we’re looking to create an edible ‘Miyawaki’ forest, with a mix of fruiting trees and bushes. A Miyawaki forest is an area of dense planting, with the trees planted much closer to each other than would normally be the case.

Watch this space or subscribe to our mailing list to keep up to date with the latest goings on at HBUF.

Ah, nuts! Read More »

HBUF Volunteers

Events, Volunteer Days, Volunteering / By Andy

At the end of last year we started our work parties, getting together once a month to tackle all the major jobs that needed doing. It worked brilliantly, with new areas cleared and trees & wildflowers planted.

We did have some volunteers that were unable to join us on the chosen weekend, and others who are keen to do more. So now that spring has well and truly sprung we’ve decided to meet every Sunday. So if you want to pop in every week or once in a blue moon, you can now pick a day that suits you, and we’d love to see you.

There’s plenty to do, so we’ll be meeting every week as the weather allows to maintain the existing planting and prepare and plant new areas.

Lots of jobs, from litter-picking and refurbishing the covers on our younger trees through to a bit of clearance work.

If you have any questions you can email Andy at “contact (at) hreodburnaurbanforest.com” or get in touch on our Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/HBUFSwindon

We meet every Sunday at 10am by the container in the picnic field.

HBUF Volunteers Read More »