Abbey Fields is holding one of its regular work parties at Croft Close Set-aside on Monday 29th January from 10.30am to 12pm.
All work parties will have a mix of activities, from light trimming to heavier manual work so there should be something for most. Starting at the Croft Close entrance to the Set-aside.
Please register in advance by emailing sitemanagers@abbeyfields.online. This allows us to let you know if the work party has to be cancelled, and also to ask you, if you can, to bring specific tools to suit the planned tasks.
Please come dressed for the weather, with long sleeves, gloves and, if possible, a hi-viz gilet or jacket. Secateurs and loppers will always be handy.
The Fundraising & Communications Committee of Histon & Impington Green Spaces is looking for new members so that it can continue to support the development of the Charity in 2024 and beyond.
Through the Committee we have been successful in building awareness of the charity and its Abbey Fields project within the Community and beyond and raising the £500,000 needed to purchase Long Meadow and the Croft Close Set-Aside. It now needs to ensure that the Charity can fund necessary operating costs and to prepare it for other opportunities.
In addition to its successful fund raising the Committee has led events on Long Meadow and The Green, supported the lecture evenings at the Cambridge Music Centre and run the photo competitions which have fed into the 2023 and 2024 Abbey Fields calendars.
Although we are looking specifically for people with fundraising or communications (especially social media) skills and experience this should not exclude others. It’s more important that you have energy and imagination and enjoy and are effective working within a team.
If you are interested in joining us please email david.jenkins@higreenspaces.org.
Abbey Fields Project trustees, volunteers and a crowd of Histon & Impington residents gathered on Saturday to watch the planting of a sapling in Long Meadow, off Park Lane.
A crowd of 150 people assembled on the 4.5-acre meadow to mark the moment when the sapling – a descendent of the veteran 450-year-old oak on Croft Close Set Aside – was transferred to Long Meadow in a symbolic linking of the two sites.The Abbey Fields project was formed by local people in 2021 to ensure that Long Meadow and Croft Close Set-aside (CCSA) are saved in perpetuity for, and by the community. Through a fundraising campaign, the group have raised £400,000 in just over a year – and the project looks set to meet the target of £500,000 needed to secure and maintain the land.
Caroline Chivers addressed the crowd before helping to plant the sapling. Photo: Amy Murrell.
The commemorative planting in Long Meadow – which may have historically been used as a hay meadow and summer pasture – is a symbol of both continuity and renewal for the community.
Saturday’s event was multi-generational, with Caroline Chivers – whose family has been associated with the villages of Histon and Impington for over a century – planting the tree with the help of a group of local children.
The new sapling will have sturdy posts and a rabbit-and-deer-proof mesh fitted in the next few weeks to provide permanent protection from the elements, and will be looked after by volunteer working parties.
The new tree is a symbol of continuity and renewal for the villages. Photo: Arnold Fertig.
Chair of Histon and Impington Green Spaces (HIGS), Rob Bensted-Smith commented: “The tree planting recognises that our project is just a small step in a long continuum of village life. One day the sapling will be a worthy successor to the huge sycamore that dominated Long Meadow for over a hundred years.
“We have a responsibility to the planet and to ourselves as a community to leave a network of green spaces around H&I, as well as preserve biodiversity for future generations.’
Protecting the ancient oak
Meanwhile, steps are being taken to protect the veteran oak at Croft Close Set-aside by cutting back shrubs and saplings growing beneath and immediately around it.
The ancient oak will be more visible and dominant in its surroundings once nearby vegetation is cut back. Photo: Daphne Fisher
Recommended by leading experts on ancient trees, this practice is called halo release. It will prevent overshadowing and allow light to reach the trunk of the tree again.
The halo release work party will take place on 28 January from 10:30am to12:30pm. Volunteers are invited to meet at Croft Close Set-aside for a short talk by Daphne Fisher, Chair of the Site Management Action Group, on why this is important for the health of the veteran tree, before clearing the surrounding trees and shrubs.
Histon and Impington Green Spaces charity is holding a Commemorative Tree Planting Ceremony on Saturday 21st January from 12pm at Long Meadow off Park Lane, Histon.
The event will see the planting of an oak sapling in Long Meadow to commemorate the beginning of the Abbey Fields project. The sapling is descended from the 450-year-old oak on Croft Close Set-aside, so linking the two sites. One day the sapling will be a worthy successor to the huge sycamore that dominated Long Meadow for over a hundred years.
12pm Celebrate with a beverage and nibbles in the meadow
12.30 Welcome from Robert Bensted-Smith, Chair of HIGS
12.40 Tree Planting led by Caroline Chivers and local children
All are welcome.
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