The ‘mulch-o-meter’ is back and ready for action in time for the second Community Tree Care Day on Saturday 26 April.
2024’s mulch-o-meter set to return for 2025. Photo Dan Mace.
From 10am-3pm in the Chivers field near the Holiday Inn and B1049, local residents and their family and friends, as well as groups of people from local clubs, churches, committees and businesses, are encouraged to join in this community effort to stop the 1,400 young trees planted on that site being choked by weeds. Last year the ‘mulch o’meter’ logged 671 trees that were cared for and this year the team hope to do even better.
Community care
Talking to HI HUB, HI Trees volunteer Dan Mace said: “Next time you’re driving, cycling or walking along the B1049 towards the A14, take a look at the newly planted woods in the field between the road and the Holiday Inn. (Although, if you’re driving, please do focus on the road ahead!)
This year’s giant mulch pile! Mulch donated by Tates Trees. Photo Dan Mace.
“1400 trees were planted in 2021 and 2022, and they’re doing pretty well. Some are now several metres tall. This is partly thanks to the love and attention that the community has given them, both when the trees were originally planted, and at the first ever HI Trees Care Day in April last year. On that day we had about 100 people turn up to weed the trees, mulch around them and help give them the best start possible. This year, we want to do even better. The mulch-o-meter will be back, and we have an even bigger pile of mulch to spread around the trees.
“And finally… we need to name this area. If you have any suggestions, the HI Trees team wants to hear them. We can’t keep calling it ‘the Woods between the B1049 and the Holiday Inn’ forever!”
What/when/where?
When: Saturday 26 April 10am – 3pm. Go along for as long or as little as you like. Even 10 minutes will help! Where: Chivers’ field next to Holiday Inn, first right off the A14 (please note that note there’s no parking on site). What: Give our young trees the best chance of thriving – we will show you how on the day. Some equipment will be provided, and if you can, please bring your gloves, spades, trowels, wheelbarrows, buckets, a drink. Please watch out for rabbit holes on the field; the ground is uneven, so please wear suitable shoes. Who: Everyone welcome including children under the supervision of their adult companions.
Last weekend our community’s love for its trees was transferred into some very real results which will benefit our village for years to come. Amanda Borrill catches up with Dan Mace, the man at the root of so much of our village’s greenery, to hear more.
The weekend of 1-2 March was a big one for our village tree population as the community came together to demonstrate, in very practical terms, their value to the people of Histon & Impington.
Histon & Impington Parish Council donated most of the trees for planting, with a further three gifted by South Cambs District Council. Helping to plant them were a range of village-based groups; ably led by Dan Mace (well known for his work with Community Orchard/HI Trees) and assisted by Daphne Fisher.
New growth at The Coppice
Starting things off on Saturday, were residents of The Coppice who were keen to replace some of the diseased trees that had been removed recently, including the magnificent beech that used to grow at the road entrance. The first tree to be planted was a native oak, near the site of the removed beech. “Over the years this should grow into a wonderful tree, at least as impressive as the tree it is replacing”, explained Dan. The residents then moved on to a clearing at the Southern end of The Coppice, created by the removal of more diseased trees, and planted two hazels and a hornbeam.
Coppice resident Stephanie Norris said, “the residents were sad to see the removal of the diseased beech tree at the entrance to The Coppice, so we were delighted to help plant a new native oak tree as a replacement. We’re looking forward to watching it grow over the coming years.”
Across the community
Sunday morning saw Dan, Daphne and Daphne’s family plant a Summer Sun Cherry near the War Memorial. “This English cherry produces large black fruit in July – either local residents or the birds should enjoy the fruit from this tree in the future”, added Dan. And, next on the list was Clay Close Lane where the tree planters put in a Norway Spruce and Scots Pine. “It was really great to see local people – both adults and children – taking pride in their green spaces and planting trees for generations to come”, Daphne enthused.
Last, but most certainly not least, came Manor Field. “The Cubs did a fantastic job at Manor Field”, smiled Dan. “There are no plans to turn Manor Field into a forest, but we are planting a few specimen trees, well-spaced across the field. This is the third year the Cubs have planted trees on Manor Field – this year they planted three native hornbeams and replaced a silver birch that had died last summer.
Planting for future generations
“The Cubs are super-enthusiastic, ask loads of great questions and, at about 8-years old, stand a good chance of being able to return to the trees when they’re fully grown in decades to come”, reflected Dan wistfully. “I probably won’t live to see these trees fully grown, but hopefully the Cubs will. Of course, at 8 years old it is hard to imagine being as old as 58, so they settled for returning on their 18th birthdays to enjoy the shade of the trees they’ve planted,” he laughed.
Cub leader Maria was delighted that there was another opportunity for the Cubs to plant trees, and she and Dan are already starting to think about their planting plans for next year.
“It was a great weekend”, Dan shared, “and it was amazing to be able to plant a few trees right across the village. Huge thanks go to both our Parish and District Councils for funding these”.
Gallery of photos from across the weekend. All permissions given. Photos copyright Dan Mace.
Tree planting season is over for this year, but Dan is keen to continue to help with further tree planting in 2026. If you know of somewhere that would benefit from some new trees, please do get in touch with Dan directly.
New trees that have died alongside the A14 won’t be replaced until autumn 2023 at the earliest, Councillor Ros Hathorn has discovered.
More than 800,000 trees were planted during construction work to improve the A14, which included the widening of the section between Histon & Impington and Milton.
The road upgrade involved the highly controversial loss of woodland and felling of mature trees at junction 32, the ‘green gateway’ to the village, and National Highways promised a ‘two for one’ replacement of felled trees in an attempt to make good the loss. But around 70% of the new trees that they planted have since died, and residents are still waiting for them to make good on their promise.
There has been no visible progress so far. Ros is challenging National Highways for explanations and a firm commitment to a new timetable. A National Highways spokesperson has apologised, saying: “I fully understand that concerns raised about previous delays and indeed historic timescales not being met must be incredibly frustrating not only for yourselves but to the local residents you represent.”
Time running out
Before work can start National Highways must complete a replanting strategy, aiming to ensure a similar failure rate doesn’t arise again. They have assured Ros that “funding is available to ensure the replanting is a success” and made a commitment to keep her regularly updated on progress.
Further delays are inevitable though. There is currently up to a four-month national wait for certain species of trees; and the annual planting season runs from September to March, meaning that work to replace the dead trees won’t begin until September 2023 at the earliest.
The National Highways spokesperson commented: “If the weather conditions are favourable this might start slightly earlier. We need to be in a position to act quickly and appropriately should conditions allow/change. We also need to plant the right species, in the right areas, at the right time which is a different approach to previous re-planting.”
Ros has written to National Highways saying she is “deeply disappointed” the work has been so slow to get going, and pointed out that Councillors raised these problems with them in the first half of 2022.
The situation is particularly worrying, as National Highways’ contractual responsibility for the trees lasts only 5 years. Effectively delaying by a whole calendar year means less opportunity for further top-up planting if any of the new trees fail to thrive, as their obligation to the community has less time before it expires.
Expert view
Local residents have also been demanding action. Their questions have prompted National Highways to reveal they have no record of how many trees were initially chopped down. They commented: “The ‘two trees planted for every one tree felled’ slogan that was widely used by National Highways is a little hard to stomach with 70 percent failure rates.”
Holiday Inn field before preparation for planting. Photo Dan Mace
These residents also point out that the land near the Holiday Inn left as a legacy project for Histon and Impington’s own tree planting by HI Trees was seriously compacted by A14 equipment. They said: “The land given back by National Highways is bare and cracked around the saplings compared to the land immediately adjacent which is green, with other plants around the saplings.”
But their request for National Highways to come back and rectify the situation has been rejected, with National Highways saying: “…this is consistent [with] the rest of scheme where planting into newly topsoiled areas especially on the clay rich soils on this scheme. No further work will take place in this area.”
National Highways have, though committed to listening to “as many local views as realistically possible” as the re-planting project continues. They told Ros they would “welcome further comments from yourself and other Councillors, especially if any of your residents are interested in the strategy”, including preferences for species that are most likely to be successful.
HI Trees Action Group is looking for volunteers to help with tree planting at the HI Trees Woods near the Holiday Inn on Saturday 4th February from 2pm.
Volunteers are needed to help with the planting of 15-20 oak saplings as part of the Histon & Impington Green Gateway restoration project. It is hoped these saplings will grow to replace some of the trees that failed during the long hot summer of 2022.
From tiny acorns… a growing oak tree near the community orchard. Photo: Dan Mace
HI Trees Action Group is looking for volunteers to help with the planting of 15-20 oak saplings as part of the Histon & Impington Green Gateway restoration project.
It is hoped these saplings will grow to replace some of the trees that failed during the long hot summer of 2022. The group would like to recruit a few extra volunteers to help get the job done more quickly. Sharing a request on their Facebook page, team leader Dan Mace wrote: “We have been offered some oak saplings. Can anyone help with planting and, possibly if enough volunteers come forward, also some weeding and mulching?”
The planting will be in the field adjacent the A14/Holiday Inn Impington, starting at around 2pm on Saturday 4 February. Volunteers will need to bring:
– a spade for planting and mulching
– trowel or fork for weeding
– wheelbarrow for mulching (optional)
– boots and weather-appropriate clothes
– their own refreshments
If you are able to help with this project, or would like more details, contact Dan Mace on dan.r.mace@gmail.com
HI Trees Action Group are providing another tree planting opportunity at 10am on Saturday 12th March.
The aim is to plant 80-150 trees on the North side of the village – creating two mini-woodlands. The sites are 1-1.5km from the nearest parking so you’ll need to be able to walk that far to take part. Please bring your own spade – trees will be provided.
For more information, see the HI Trees Facebook page.
Histon and Impington Trees Action Group are getting together on Saturday 29th January from 10am-1pm in front of the Holiday Inn.
They have 100 trees to plant and lots of mulching to do. Everyone is welcome but children should be accompanied by an adult. Take a spade if you can but there will be some to borrow.
There will be demonstrations on how to plant a tree throughout the session.
Please note that there is no parking on site. Please walk, cycle or park your car responsibly on a nearby street.
The HI trees action group invites you to come and plant a tree for national tree week & help restore the green gateway to our village on Saturday 27th Nov drop-in anytime between 10am-2pm
Place: In front of the Holiday Inn
Equipment: Bring a spade if you can. But they’ll have some spares available
Demos: How to plant demos throughout the day!
Kids: Everyone welcome. Children must be accompanied by an adult.
Paid refreshments: Hopefully we’ll have a hot & cold drinks van on the day
Climate change will be in the national news as the Glasgow COP26 summit approaches, but local efforts will be vital if zero-carbon targets are to be met. Liz Hill reports on how the village is getting involved.
The global UN climate summit known as COP26, taking place in Glasgow in early November, will hopefully see world leaders make new commitments to actions that their countries will take to reduce greenhouse gases and prevent catastrophic increases in global temperatures. But if they are to be delivered, those commitments will rely on the actions of all citizens, and every community has its part to play – Histon & Impington included.
What is COP26?
‘COP26’ is shorthand for ‘the 26th Climate Change Conference of the Parties’. This year’s event is being hosted by the UK, which is also setting the agenda. It will see international delegations come together to agree coordinated action to tackle climate change.
The aim of COP26 is to make better progress towards meeting the commitments made in an international treaty on climate change that was adopted in 2015 – known as ‘the Paris Agreement.’ The summit will culminate with the countries agreeing to targets for reaching the ‘net zero’ carbon emissions needed to stop the devastating advance of global warming.
The conference will be delivered in two ‘Zones’. The Green Zone will be where the general public, youth groups, civil society, academics, artists and businesses will run talks, events, exhibitions and workshops that aim to help the UK’s communities build awareness and make commitments around the climate change agenda.
The Blue Zone is where the governments will negotiate the targets that they will buy into, and is exclusively for heads of state and expert climate delegates from 197 countries who will be sharing their information, advice and stories.
Local champion
Among those involved in these world-changing conversations will be Histon & Impington resident and South Cambs Councillor Pippa Heylings. Her career has seen her working both locally and internationally to encourage sustainable development, biodiversity conservation and a low carbon, climate resilient world. It is therefore no surprise that, in recognition of her extensive knowledge and influence over environmental agendas across the world, she has been given a coveted space in the ‘Blue Zone’ at the conference.
Pippa Heylings
Among Pippa’s aims is to reinforce the message that action at local level is as important as national policy in halting climate change, because change will only happen if individuals and communities do their bit. She is Chair of South Cambs District Council’s Climate and Environment Advisory Committee, national Lead Lib Dem for the Environment, Economy, Housing and Transport Board, and leads on the cross-party Climate Change Task Force set up by the Local Government Association in the run-up to the conference. The task force members have been meeting regularly with all the Ministers nominated as COP26 Champions for key sectors across Government.
The aim of the group is to get local and regional governments across the world recognised as a vital part of national efforts to reach climate change targets. They are asking for a whole day of the conference agenda to be dedicated to ‘sub-national’ government activity – which in the UK means County, District and Parish Councils. They also want the final COP26 agreement reached by national governments to commit to giving the financial and political support that councils will need to bring about change in their communities.
Off the starting blocks
Here in Histon & Impington, the community isn’t sitting waiting for the outcome of COP26 before taking action. The Neighbourhood Plan came into force earlier this year, supporting the Parish Council to look for opportunities to reduce carbon emissions in the community and to develop community energy schemes. Some community groups are already in action too, not least HITrees and its community planting events, and the new charity H&I Green Spaces, which is securing the future of Abbey Fields and preventing their use as development land.
South Cambs District Council is fully behind community efforts. Together with around 2,000 local councils across the world, it has declared a climate and ecological emergency. Its business plan priority is ‘being green to our core’ and earlier this year its green efforts were commended in the Public Sector Transformation Awards as being “exemplary”.
As part of its efforts, South Cambs has adopted a Zero Carbon Strategy to bring down its own emissions, as well as a Doubling Nature Strategy aiming to increase the tree canopy to absorb more CO2 from the atmosphere. Last year Histon & Impington was able to take advantage of the three free trees it offered to every parish council in the district, and that offer has been doubled this year, with six free trees available.
To support businesses and communities to do their bit to reduce their carbon emissions, South Cambs has prepared a Climate Emergency toolkit, and earlier this year it ran a Climate and Environment Fortnight which presented activities aimed at helping residents think about how to live more sustainably.
There is no doubt that the building blocks are being put in place to encourage and support our village to step up to the enormous challenge of climate change. It’s up to each of us now to engage with the process and take our own steps towards the zero carbon future we so urgently need.
Community organisations in Histon & Impington can do their bit to inspire action on climate change by joining in with the Great Big Green Week, a national week of events from 18 to 26 September. Thousands of events will celebrate how communities are taking action to tackle climate change and protect green spaces. Event organisers can sign up to take part.
Plans are afoot to create our very own Green Canopy and HI Trees, the group behind the mission, needs your help. Dan Mace and Amanda Layzell explain how we can all play our part in this long-term initiative.
Is there a place in the village that holds a cherished memory for you – perhaps of a special person or a significant time in your life? Planting a tree can be a wonderful way to commemorate a happy time or much loved person in your life – past or present. Let’s plant more trees in Histon and Impington and create our very own Green Canopy.
Trees and hedgerows benefit us and the environment in so many ways.
Woodland provides a home for a wide range of birds, mammals and shade-loving plants and fungi. A single tree can support many species of birds, insects and plants – one tree can attract as many as 280 species of insects.
Hedgerows are important as they can connect areas of rich biodiversity; they are the highways of nature, and are particularly important for flying insects like butterflies, and also for hedgehogs and other small mammals.
Trees absorb CO2 and so can help reduce CO2 levels in the atmosphere. A mature tree can remove 21kg of CO2 from the atmosphere per year.
Woodland is not just beneficial for wildlife. Walking through woods can lower your blood pressure and reduce stress levels. Research suggests that patients with views of trees heal faster and with fewer complications.
But where could we plant these much needed trees? During Feast Week, and into the future, community group HI Trees will be seeking your thoughts and asking out across the community of Histon and Impington for ideas. Maybe there is a piece of green space outside your house that would benefit from a specimen tree? Or, perhaps you have spotted somewhere on your local walk where a few trees, a copse or some hedging could be planted?
A local example of a glorious Green Canopy : Women’s Institute Woods near the guided busway. Photo Dan Mace
The HI Trees team has prepared an online form which you can access here. The system is ready to go so you can complete it now if you have a suggestion. Alternatively, look out for paper copies of the forms available from 26 June onwards at St Andrew’s Cafe, Print-Out, Station Stores and the Parish Council Offices. This is a long-term initiative and support of the community will be vital to make it a success.
In order to purchase these trees and hedges, the team will be seeking funding. Perhaps you could sponsor a tree? Sponsoring a tree is the perfect gift – a gift that will continue to grow over years to come, a gift that is ecologically sensitive and a gift that brings joy to the whole village. It will also provide a home for a multitude of nature – what more perfect gift is there than that!
On Tuesday 6 July at 8pm, HI Trees will be hosting a Zoom meeting to talk in more detail about this initiative. Hosted by Dan Mace, he’ll talk more about why we should plant trees, what has been done in the village so far, and what more can be done. If you want to fully participate in the talk, you will need to take along a bar of chocolate – any bar will do, just make sure you know how much it weighs!
Dan Mace
Currently there is a national ‘plant a tree for the Jubilee’ campaign being coordinated by Executives of the Government and the charity Cool Earth called the Queen’s Green Canopy. This national project will see all counties of the UK being invited to create a network of individual or specimen trees, tree avenues, copses and woodlands in honour of Her Majesty’s 70 years of service to the Nation so our community project is in very good company.
If you have any questions, or need any further information, please contact Dan Mace on dan.r.mace@gmail.com
