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.
Get in touch
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.
Email Dan Mace at dan.r.mace@gmail.com. Read more about the Community Orchard here and explore HI Trees here.
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