HERITAGE TREES – a sub-project of Wilder Wenhaston

A heritage tree is typically a large, individual or group of trees, which are significant in the landscape and often irreplaceable. The major criteria for heritage tree designation are age, rarity, and size, as well as aesthetic, botanical, ecological, and historical value. Wenhaston has several such trees and with threats such as disease, drought and development it is important we record our local resource to ensure it survives into the future.

Project brief

To record and map all the heritage trees within the village boundary

Purpose/aim

  • To record and map all the heritage trees within the village.
  • To measure and age each tree if possible
  • To assess each trees condition, dead wood, fungi etc
  • To submit all information to the Suffolk Biological Information Service (SBIS)
  • To identify where replacement trees should be planted for the future

Work to be done

  • Identify potential trees and contact landowners for permission to survey
  • Carry out survey using volunteers completing a standard form
  • Map all trees
  • Contact relevant landowners to inform them of the local significance of their trees
  • Identify potential problems, disease (Ash die back) etc
  • Identify locations where new trees could be planted.
  • Create a walks map showing the various tree locations

Output

  • To record and map all trees within 12 months
  • To put all findings on the village website and send to SBIS

Outcomes

  • To provide an inventory of the village’s heritage trees and a baseline for future surveys.
  • To give awareness of the importance of these trees to people and the landscape

Progress to date April 2023

Following a training morning in December a team of volunteers was formed mainly working in pairs. Training included tree identification, measuring girth and height, recording accurate locations using 10 figure grid references and describing trees condition.

The parish is divided up into OS tetrads and each team allocated one or two tetrads. On the training day we found two oak trees over 500 years old, subsequent surveys have found another 500-year-old specimen and a sweet chestnut 220 years old.

Amazing to think when these oak trees first sprouted from acorns Christopher Columbus was discovering America.

The aim will to be to survey the whole parish and a report will be written in the autumn.


One of the villages veteran oaks

The Wenhaston Heritage Tree Project 2023 report is available to read    HERE

The Wenhaston Heritage Tree Survey EXCEL database is available to download   HERE



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