Westbury Active and Retirement Club – Standing up for trees

Many retired people can remember a landscape dotted with magnificent elm trees, because we knew the UK before Dutch Elm disease struck, reports Westbury Active Retirement Club.

“But as we learned from Dr Owen Rogers of the Woodland Trust, that is not the only threat to our wooded landscape. Along with Ash Dieback and Horse Chestnut disease, there are other pests (including the construction of HS2) that can decimate our woodlands. 

“In his talk “Standing up for Trees” Owen told the Active Retirement Club of some of the work of the Woodland Trust, which was founded in Devon in 1972 to plant, protect, and restore our native trees. We were able to handle a small piece of wood from the oldest tree in Britain, a 5,000-year-old yew in Scotland, and were urged to report any new problems we might find on our woodland walks to the Trust’s website.

 “The club’s next meeting is the AGM, then on 19th February we will welcome Rosie Evitt, who is going to talk about ‘two old women, a dog, and a camper-van go to Orkney’.”

More information from Bruce on 07968 662593 or www.arcwestbury.club.