Wokingham District Veteran Tree Association
& Wokingham Borough Tree Wardens
Wokingham Library has received printed resources from the Tree Council that will be available in some of the borough branches in celebration of National Tree Week (22nd to 30th November). Storytime volunteers will be conducting themed storytimes during the week and there will be displays and books available.
On Saturday morning, June 14th 2025, a party of volunteers from the Woosehill Meadows and Emm Brook Conservation group led by Jürgen Adam, built a wattle fence around MRN 262, a significant but threatened old oak tree. This was to protect its roots from compaction as a result of footfall from a nearby popular path through Woosehill Meadows, close to the Emm Brook.
A more detailed description of this important conservation project can be found here.
The WBC Tree Management team has carried out a survey on the English oak between 259 and 261 Nine Mile Ride (MRN 6509). The survey noted fungal fruiting bodies thought to be Ganoderma and some hollowing of the trunk. The extent of internal decay is such that significant reduction of the tree is required to protect public safety. The tree does not have a TPO.
The initial recommendation by the surveyor was to fell the tree entirely but following a review of the environmental and amenity impact WBC officers have recommended less severe action. The revised safety works comprise:
These works were planned for February 2024 and further decay analysis of the stem will be carried out in 2025.
On Saturday 19 August a large bough gave way and fell from the veteran oak (MRN 177) in St Paul's churchyard. Fortunately, nobody was hurt but the damage is significant because the breakage uncovered considerable fungal decay and cavities elsewhere within the tree. The Church parish council commissioned an arboricultural assessment which recommended remedial work in the interests of safety. This was done at the end of December.
Alison Griffin, representing the WDVTA, commenting in Wokingham.today (21 September) put fungal attack and cavities found in the tree into the context of how trees age. She promoted leaving as much of the tree as would be safe so that it might regrow or at least continue to have biodiversity value. She also gave examples where a stump could be carved into a seat or even a piece of art.
It is hoped that extensive regeneration will occur in coming years.
Wokingham Borough Council (WBC) has now approved and published its Tree Strategy.
The document provides the Council with a framework to help manage its tree assets and achieve a number of objectives relating to the protection of the local environment as well as promoting the health and welfare of everyone who lives, works or studies in the borough.
Our involvement in lobbying for the development of this important local policy started at our AGM in Spring 2019. Jon Stokes from The Tree Council was one of the invited speakers and he encouraged us to work with the borough council to develop a tree strategy. We had support from council officers and Cllr Angus Ross but resource funding was an issue until the Climate Emergency Action Plan (CEAP) was started. As trees are a key element of the CEAP, this required the development of a strategy for the borough's trees. Work was planned in 2021 and resourced in 2022 with the draft being issued for consultation in December. We had already submitted informal input at an early stage in 2022 and responded formally to the consultation process in January 2023.
The Tree Strategy has a lengthy early section covering the legal framework the council must follow regarding trees, a useful reference source. This is followed by sections covering most of the topics that we wanted to see such as developer responsibilities, replacement tree planting, hedges and hedge trees. There is a high level action plan at the end.
Many of the images in the document are from our own photo collection of Wokingham's trees. How many do you recognise?
WDVTA welcomes the publication of this important document which, if implemented as intended, will significantly contribute towards the welfare of Wokingham's trees.
On June 27th two trees on the verge of Barkham Road outside the Leathern Bottel pub in Wokingham were felled and we have had several emails and contacts from members and local residents about the loss of these two highly visible and valued amenity trees. In addition on May 9th, three oak trees in the field behind the Leathern Bottel car park were felled. Four of these 5 felled trees were recorded on our database (trees numbered MRN3206, MRN3207, MRN3208 and MRN3209). Borough council officers and Executive councillors have been very active in following up the extent of the work and whether permissions were needed for the fellings and if so whether they had been applied for and granted. We know that none of the trees had TPOs. We will update this news item if we hear any further details.
Most of our recorded trees do not have TPOs, so if you are concerned about trees potentially being felled do look at our FAQ for how to apply for a TPO and also at our FAQ for what to do if a tree is being felled or unnecessarily pruned.
Update 8th September 2023WBC received planning application 231990 on 14 August 2023 with site address Ye Olde Leathern Bottel, 221 Barkham Road Wokingham RG41 4BY, in respect of a full application for the proposed creation of a site access to serve the existing Public House and the Equestrian centre along with clearance of the former access. Public consultation ended 8 September 2023.
We have had a number of messages from members of the public concerned about tree felling in their area. One of the more extensive clearances reported this year was on the Haines Hill estate in Hurst where trees in an 8 metre wide stretch along significant lengths of two roads in Hurst were felled. A report in the local paper gave the estate’s explanation for the work which was that there were health and safety concerns adjacent to the roads being remediated as part of a cycle of woodland management. Significant new planting is now being undertaken. While the estate did have the requisite Forestry Commission felling licence, WDVTA feels that it would have been helpful to have communicated their intentions to the local parish council and via social media to avoid misunderstandings and unnecessary concern.
We have also had queries from residents in Finchampstead and Barkham reporting extensive tree felling. In both cases, the Borough’s tree officers placed a TPO on the relevant area to protect the remaining trees. In the Barkham case, a planning application has now been submitted to develop land bordered by the lost trees.
Over the years we have had similar issues and enquiries and have developed several FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) on our website. In essence the advice for situations like these is:
Wokingham Borough Council (WBC) has launched a project where members of the public can take a photo of their favourite tree and upload it to the WBC Tree Stories platform and share why they have chosen that particular tree.
Participants may see their photo and story featured on WBC's social media pages.
Wokingham Borough Council has created an 'Engage' platform on the web for residents to see the status and publicity about council plans and projects.
The WBC Tree Project is a component of the platform and the Council has appointed a project manager for the creation of their Tree Strategy and the planning and management of the project to plant the 250,000 trees agreed as part of their Climate Emergency plans.
Part of the Project is the Garden Forest Scheme where residents complete a survey through which they can indicate their interest in planting a tree or trees in their gardens.
Work is starting on the redesign of the roundabout where Molly Millars Lane meets Finchampstead Road. The large oak tree MRN 1729 and other smaller trees was felled in December 2021.
During the redevelopment of Elms Field, some mature trees were sadly felled. But sculptor Steve Radford has used the wood from some of the trees to carve some stunning sculptures of insects which have been returned to Elms Field for everyone to enjoy. Some of the carvings are shown below together with their database identification for the original tree.
Tap the MRN number to see the database entry and photos.
Wokingham Borough Council has gratefully received a grant of £300,000 from the Woodland Trust to allow it to plant over 250,000 trees across the borough.
This funding, which is part of the Woodlands Trust’s £2.9 million campaign delivered from the charity's new Emergency Tree Fund, will provide much needed support to local authorities including Wokingham borough to boost tree cover and tackle climate change.
The Trust is working with Wokingham Borough Council and ten other authorities across the UK in the first phase of the project and aims to expand the scheme further in 2022.
In response to concerns raised by a member, WDVTA asked WBC for their comments, given that the extent of the felling had given rise to concern and whether climate mitigation had been taken in to account.
Chris Hannington (Team Manager, WBC Trees and Landscape) responded on behalf of WBC, making the following points:
There has been some major tree felling on the dam for Bearwood Lake. WDVTA has received a number of contacts asking about this activity and whether it has been sanctioned by the Council.
You can see a video here.
The planning application is 203483 and gives details of the work proposed.
A number of people are trying to find out what was approved, what has been felled and what mitigation of the tree loss will be required. The climate impact also needs to be determined. As we get any answers, we will post them here.
The Forestry Commission is surveying the Wokingham district for OPM infestations. They are working in areas where the moth has been reported by the public as well as randomly selected plots. The work should be completed by 12 March.
The contractors performing the survey are Acres Wild Woodlands and will be wearing Forestry Commission branded hi-vis vests. They will use a timber marking with different symbols for infested and non-infested trees, this year the paint colour used will be orange.
The caterpillar of this moth has a hairy appearance and should not be touched as its hairs can cause a severe skin reaction in many people. It can also cause serious damage to the trees where it builds its nests.
Further information on tree pests and diseases can be found at Gov.uk (Forestry).
Newly-planted trees need to be watered regularly over the summer months if they are going to become established and thrive. The Arboricultural Association has launched a street tree campaign encouraging people to water street trees outside their houses, or any other trees they pass on their daily walk.
The Tree Council Branching Out Fund is now open. Thanks to the generosity of donors, the Tree Council has funds available to assist schools and community groups proposing to undertake well-planned tree and hedge planting projects this winter, preferably during National Tree Week – 28 November – 6 December 2020.
This year they will fund 100% of the cost (excluding VAT) of strong applications from £300 to an increased upper limit of £1500.
A paper has just been published which gives hope that scientists may be able to fight ash die-back.
Prof Richard Buggs, from the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, has just published some research on genetic studies on ash trees which have been affected and ones which have not been affected by the ash die-back fungus. They have identified several areas in the DNA of unaffected trees which may be enabling the trees to withstand the infection. The project team hope to bring together all of the advantageous genetic differences into a single population of ash trees which would have a higher resistance than any ash trees we currently have. These could then be used to restock the country with ash trees in the future.
You can read more about the work and their results and conclusions on the BBC News website.
Network Rail (NR) is cutting back the vegetation on the trackside verges along the stretch of line between Wokingham and Reading stations. This work is necessary to ensure that leaf fall problems are minimised and that good sight-lines for crews working on the tracks can be established.
NR commissioned an independent ecological survey of the impact of vegetation management on the biodiversity along this stretch of line as it is aware of public interest and concern about such management schemes. The detailed plan for the work has been made available to the public and on 16 September 2019 NR held an open meeting at the Winnersh Community Centre to explain the project and answer any questions or concerns raised.
WDVTA and the Reading Tree Wardens Group, wishing to ensure that damage to this habitat is kept to the minimum consistent with NR’s aims, submitted written responses to NR’s plans. Our representatives attended the public consultation meeting and have had two on-site meetings with the NR project manager, the team members and the head of the contractors who will do the work for NR. Jon Stokes, Director of Programmes for the Tree Council, also attended the meetings. He provided an expert and independent opinion on how tree clearance or tree size reduction might be managed to preserve and maintain as much as possible of the tree habitat while ensuring that NR’s aims are achieved.
More photographs can be found here.
The removal of vegetation extended to a minimum of 7 metres on both sides of the track. This caused a marked change in the appearance of the trackside areas but the ‘bare’ look softened over the next few years as new undergrowth appears leaving a safe and more easily managed trackside.
Two related documents are of interest. The first, Valuing nature - a railway for people and wildlife,
was commissioned by the Government (Minister for Rail) to provide best practice guidelines for Network Rail’s estate
management.
The second document, Vegetation Management Site Specification – Wokingham to Reading, is from NR and
describes the specific proposals for the line between Reading and Wokingham.
Both documents can be found here.
A substantial part of the Fox Hill woodland has been put up for sale. Although the trees seem to be covered by TPOs, there is local concern that this may herald changes to the much used and enjoyed woodland between Woosehill, Limmerhill and Bearwood Road.
Stephanie McKay, WDVTA Treewardens coordinator, is closely involved with the growing local campaign to find an organisation that might purchase the land up for sale and manage the woodland with public access to retain it as a significant local asset.
The campaign has set up a Facebook group called Protect Foxhill Woodland and they also have a website, Friends of Fox Hill.
The WDVTA Committee has agreed that our position is to support any local campaign in trying to ensure the woodland is retained and managed as a public amenity.
The Tree Council has been asked by their colleagues at Defra for help with an urgent tree health matter concerning recent outbreaks of OPM and they have passed the message on to WDVTA.
If you know anyone who has recently planted larger oaks (as defined in the press notice below) imported from the continent, Defra is requesting that they check these trees for OPM, and report any findings to Tree Alert. At this time of year, you are most likely to notice the hairy-looking caterpillar or web-like nests - please do not touch either as they could potentially be harmful to your health. Please find further guidance from Defra below, and for more information on the moth and its identification, visit Observatree or Forest Research.
Our guest speakers, both from The Tree Council, gave two very interesting talks at our AGM. Jon Stokes, Director of Trees, Science and Research spoke on the UK’s Treescape and its Future, and Sam Village, National Tree Warden Coordinator, spoke about the Tree Warden Scheme detailing the work of groups across the country, their findings and the way forward.
We are very lucky to have made very supportive friends at The Tree Council and the fact that they took the time and trouble to travel to Wokingham for an evening at a busy time was another indication of their respect for the work done by everyone at WDVTA.
We had to twice postpone what would have been an excellent walk around The University of Reading’s Whiteknights campus to look at 25 of their most interesting and unusual trees. Head of Grounds, Rupert Taylor, has led a walk for us before and is an excellent and very knowledgeable guide. However, he agreed with us that as the evening temperature was forecast to be over 30° (it turned out to be 33°) the walk would be inadvisable. We had recurrences of the very hot weather throughout the summer and had to postpone for a second time. We had intended to reschedule the walk for autumn but this proved impossible but we are hoping to agree a new date with Rupert in spring 2026. The disruption affected our plan to visit Harcourt Arboretum, Oxford, so the Harcourt event is now likely go ahead in 2026.
We had a very well-attended autumn hedgerow walk along St Patrick's Stream in Charvil. Twyford Fishing Club allowed us onto their private site during Loddon Rivers Week in September. Stephen Loyd, our Tree Warden Coordinator, led an interesting walk which had been arranged after we had enjoyed the 2024 talk given by Megan Gimber on hedgerows.
Walking alongside the stream on a lovely, sunny September afternoon we could see many examples of what Megan had told us to look out for. Stephen enriched the afternoon with his own knowledge of hedgerows from his local conservation work. He had taken part in laying some of these hedges on behalf of the fishing club years before - many of our best walks have been led by our own members who have extensive knowledge of their area. Members heard two poems that had been written about the Loddon and its tributaries.
More photos from the walk here.
The continuing very wet conditions through January and February of 2026 have prevented a winter walk and repeated what happened with our Barkham walk a couple of years ago. In most earlier years we have had many lovely walks in winter and very pleasant summer evening rambles but it may now be prudent to take account of the likelihood of difficult weather in our event planning.
Winter 2024 began with bad weather affecting our annual winter walk with pub lunch. Derek Oxbrough, our treasurer, had planned an interesting local walk in Barkham for January. After having to postpone owing to extremely wet weather we rescheduled for later February hoping conditions would improve but sadly they didn't and the pathways remained waterlogged, unsafe and almost impassable so we were forced to cancel.
Spring is the time for our AGM and as always we try to get the very best and most interesting speakers to join us. This year we were fortunate to have Megan Gimber, Habitats Officer for the People's Trust for Endangered Species (PTES), deliver her presentation entitled Hedgerows, what have they ever done for us and what we can do for them? The topics covered were:
Megan agreed in principle to lead a field day looking at hedgerows in our area and talk about what could be done to best maintain and improve them. We might extend this event to families or schools in the Wokingham area.
Autumn from October to November we invited Wokingham Art Society to collaborate with us in creating artworks in a variety of media inspired by some of the trees in our database. Some WDVTA members also contributed. This culminated in an online exhibition on our website and on social media to celebrate National Tree Week which ran from 23rd November to 1st December. Our thanks go to Charles Gallagher from Wokingham Art Society who helped by informing his members of the project and collating their contributions.
The Tree Council added some of the submissions across their social media, featuring the WDVTA and the Art Society on their Instagram, Facebook and Twitter (X) pages.
Here are examples of the types of artwork on show:
and you can see the entire collection on our gallery pages.
Looking forward to 2025 - please send us suggestions for walks, visits or training workshops including any events you would like us to repeat - maybe because you missed it first time. Have you heard a talk or podcast you think would be of interest? If you have any ideas please do contact us as everyone (not just members) is welcome to our events.
We look forward to you joining us in 2025.
We have to report a mixed year for events, the result of a variety of unfortunate reasons as mentioned below. We began with planning our usual mix of walks and visits, talks and training.
As always WDVTA has been keen to invite the very best speakers to talk to our group and this often covers an element of training too. In March 2023 a packed Town Hall audience was captivated by a presentation from UCL Professor Mattias Disney on his lidar work with trees. A previous event for WDVTA had been a visit to Wytham Woods Oxford so when we heard Mat speaking on the news from there about his groundbreaking work measuring the carbon storage of trees and much more we contacted him that evening. He immediately responded positively to an invitation to speak to our members, He knew of WDVTA’s work and of Wokingham’s many fine trees. He came earlier on the day of the AGM, bringing his bike on the train specifically to have a ride around our wonderful giant redwoods in Wellingtonia Avenue and he later added pictures of them to his Twitter/ X account. His talk was entitled Weighing trees with lasers: new insights from tropical forests to urban churchyards and described the terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) which combines the use of laser and satellite scanning technology to obtain insights into climate change and much more. Those who were unable to come along can watch his presentation on our publications page.
Sadly, for a variety of reasons we needed to postpone other events such as our much anticipated return to Wellington College arranged for July. The grounds manager, who led our previous walk there which was excellent and much requested as a repeat event, had to advise us that it wouldn't be possible owing to ill health and it hasn't been possible to reschedule yet.
In September, to recognise the importance of 2023 being a Coronation year, we arranged with the Crown Estates Manager a walk in the Great Park along the Decaying Wood Trail at High Standing Hill. This was postponed owing to lack of interest. This may have been a timing issue so the events team have decided to circulate a questionnaire asking these sorts of questions, see further notes on this below.
Our winter walk with pub lunch is always popular and well attended, a great chance to get out locally, a very social occasion to chat with other members along the way and over lunch. Last year's Ruscombe Woods winter walk, led by Stephen Loyd, was a great example of this. The December weather was benevolent and Burattas at The Royal Oak was a good venue for our meal together. Derek Oxbrough kindly planned this year's winter walk as a follow up to be around The Coombes but the constant heavy rains made any attempt to walk the route near impossible and unsafe. We rescheduled in late February hoping conditions would be improved but sadly more heavy rains returned and scuppered us despite Derek's best attempts (below).
A year like no other, weather, health issues, costs and availability have all conspired against us at some time. We feel it would be useful to survey members with questions relating to events. Should we arrange walks and visits at weekdays or weekends, or alternate these? If on a weekday it may need to be during the early evening so working members have a chance to attend. The grounds managers offering to lead walks don't always work at the weekend.
Talks given in halls can attract much higher cost in some venues now. Spaces and availability are often very limited. Recent enquiries resulted in the only venues possible on certain dates that a speaker could offer was to cost £200 for the evening. This raises the discussion point about charging an entry fee, at present we ask that attendees consider leaving a small donation to help pay speaker's expenses and hospitality. WDVTA has no annual membership fee.
Do please look out for the emailed questionnaire. Feel free to suggest places you've visited that would be well worth considering including as well as your thoughts on anything above. If there is particular training you feel would be helpful do add that. We've held some very useful workshops in the past.
Taking part in the events is often informative, always convivial, giving members, new and old, a chance to get to know each other and strengthen the association. We look forward to seeing you for some of the forthcoming events through 2024, keep checking the website and Tree Watch for details which will appear later this year.
Our events programme has always been arranged around four main areas, some that overlap: walks, visits, talks, and training. As well as being an opportunity to become better informed about the protection, management and the benefits of our wonderful trees, our events have offered wonderful opportunities for WDVTA members. There’s the chance to meet, enjoy each others’ company and benefit from the shared wealth of members’ experience of trees and the natural world.
Events planning has continued to be somewhat affected (albeit to a lesser extent) by concerns about the still circulating coronavirus. In spring we held our annual AGM by Zoom again. As well as the usual business of the association the meeting featured talks from Wokingham Borough Council staff Laura Buck and Duncan Fisher who both work in the Green Infrastructure teams. Laura’s talk was about the planting of 250,000 trees now underway across the borough. She outlined the development of the Tree Strategy for Wokingham and to which WDVTA has been invited to contribute. Duncan Fisher is heading the Local Nature Recovery Strategy and gave a talk about the work being done within the borough.
In spring, Martin Woolner delivered his very interesting, fact-filled talk ‘Life in the Leaf Litter’ to a live audience at St. Paul’s Hall Wokingham. It was gratifying to see members back together for a talk although turnout was lower than previously as people began to resume ‘normal service’.
Our summer event was to have combined training with a walk and visit to Kew as Dr. Glynn Percival showed us how to identify signs of tree diseases and pest damage. We decided to postpone the event as travel to Kew was difficult because of a train strike with members feeling cautious about car sharing, a normal practice in earlier non-covid times.
In the autumn we enjoyed a really fascinating woodland walk through Paddick’s Patch where we looked for fungi. To say that our walk leader Keith Boseley is a knowledgeable enthusiast would be an understatement! Keith told us how to spot associations between certain trees and particular fungi. This was a requested repeat of a really popular event. As we entered the gate we were greeted by a perfectly formed little Earth Star peeping through the undergrowth.
Several very successful plantings also took place throughout the year with members very much involved. These were splendid events in their own right. Community orchards were planted in and around our area including one supported by members Barry and Claire Andersen and Sarah Swatridge who all provided help and expertise in Charvil. The Queen’s Green Canopy Project celebrated the Platinum Jubilee in 2022 and Barbara Stagles worked with others to bring this project to fruition.
We ended the year with our regular Winter Walk. This year we met on an early December morning outside St. James the Great Church, Ruscombe, where we admired the fine TROBI (Tree Register of the British Isles) yew tree. Stephen Loyd, local coordinator for the area and lead tree warden, led our walk where he outlined the woodland management practices used to maintain the nearby wood. Afterwards many of the group headed for Burattas at the appropriately named ‘Royal Oak’ for a very enjoyable lunch, a good way to end our year.
We look forward to seeing you, old and new friends of WDVTA, for events planned for 2023 and we hope there will be something for everyone.
Our events programme has always centred around a four pillared programme of walks, visits, talks, and training. As well as being an opportunity to become better informed about the value, health, and management of our wonderful trees, our events have offered wonderful opportunities for WDVTA members to meet, enjoy each others’ company and benefit from the shared wealth of members’ experience of trees and the natural world.
We learned many lessons from the restrictions that were put into place during 2020. The value of Zoom has been immeasurable in allowing us to continue with a programme of events.
Talks were greatly enhanced by powerpoint presentations. Without the mastery of the technology that Barry Andersen, Elaine and Malcolm Butler, and our webmaster Malcolm Inglis so capably demonstrated our programme would have been fruitless.
The year began with an excellent virtual walk through Charvil and surrounds led by Barry and Claire Andersen and Sarah Swatridge. We enjoyed a walk by the waterside and along woodland paths exploring a local area largely unknown to many of us until then.
Another very well attended talk was the enlightening update from Gregor Murray the Executive Member for Climate Emergency at WBC held in February.
Our Annual General Meeting was held for the second year on Zoom in March. Guest Speakers Dr Sam Hughes and Nick Hale from the South East Rivers Trust told us about their projects including regeneration work taking place on the Emm Brook. They also detailed the Charvil Backwater Project and told us about the Loddon Catchment Partnership. As a result of this evening some members from WDVTA have become more closely involved with these projects.
In May we repeated a popular event held some years before: My Favourite Tree. It was a mix of contributions from members, from tree professionals who have given talks to WDVTA, and from a few well-known names. Outstanding was the kind reply we received from the Poet Laureate who had taken the time to write a few words for us. It felt very special to end the evening with his thoughts.
We were very lucky to have our invitation accepted by Jamie Hartzell and guests who reported to us in September on their Oxfordshire Treescape Project. The aim of this project is to identify the appropriate sites for planting new trees that will double the tree cover in the target area. It was shown how ecological, economic, geographic factors all require consideration in the selection of planting sites.
Throughout the year members had been present at various plantings of community orchards and other trees. As the year drew to a close WDVTA supported the Twyford Tree Festival in November during National Tree Week.
We are unable to hold any winter events as a consequence of the rapid spread of the highly transmissible Omicrom variant Covid virus. We look forward to arranging our programme for the forthcoming year with increased freedom.
If you missed any of the above talks or would like to look back over them the slides and recordings of previous events can be found at our presentations archive. This page includes Glynn Percival’s excellent update on tree diseases from the end of 2020.
2020 turned into a year that overturned most of the events WDVTA had in planning as it will almost certainly have done with your personal plans. You will be well aware that it became a year like no other. After our most enjoyable walk at Fox Hill in February we postponed and cancelled all but the AGM which was very different to previous meetings. National Tree Week in the late autumn reopened events with a very welcome and enlightening talk from Dr Glynn Percival which many of you joined on Zoom.
We look forward to bringing you our usual selection of walks, talks and more in the forthcoming year, some still online but maybe some back in the real world in time but regrettably not for now.
We continued to run our usual mix of walks and talk, training and visits. Here are just some of the highlights of 2019.
We began the year with a visit in January to see the Ankerwycke Yew at Runnymede. This impressive ancient tree is said by some to be up to 2500 years old. Toby Hindson, co-founder of the Ancient Tree Forum kindly hosted the event and was very informative. We gathered at the Perseverance Inn nearby for a lunch afterwards.
We had special guest speakers from the Tree Council at our AGM, the new chief executive, Sara Lom, and Jon Stokes Director of Programs (their spelling!). It was a really interesting evening. Jon concluded by remarking that our Green Routes, the tree lined roads in Wokingham, are not only beautiful but becoming increasingly rare in the UK.
Michael and Susan Rea kindly led a spring walk around Evendons, taking in the lovely Redlands Farm Park. The area has good footpaths and many magnificent trees en route. Our local walks are always very well attended and show that there are so many undiscovered gems on our doorstep.
A summer walk around the grounds of Wellington College in summer was much enjoyed. Mark Dodd, Head of Gardens and Countryside, gave us a fascinating insight into the rewards and challenges of running this magnificent park.
A suggestion from Jill Butler of the Woodland Trust at our 2018 AGM sparked interest in the naming of trees. Giving names to trees is a powerful way of protecting them by identifying the trees as individuals. WDVTA ran a competition at Winnersh Summer Fête in 2018 and two splendid trees on the Bearwood Recreation Ground were accorded the winning names, The Walter Oak and The Sindlesham Oak. At the 2019 Fête there was an unveiling ceremony of name plaques led by WDVTA and Winnersh Parish Council.
In late August we visited Savernake Forest, the only privately owned forest in Britain now managed by the Forestry Commission. We were lucky enough to have one of the rangers, Tom Blythe, leading the walk. The forest, an SSSI, is home to over 7000 trees, mainly oak, sweet chestnut, beech and ash. There is reputed to be a greater concentration of veteran trees here than anywhere in Europe and there are many indicators, such as rare lichens, of its ancient woodland status. Lunch was at the Roebuck in Marlborough.
The year’s events ended with talk Wokingham's Trees: Visible? Valued? Vanishing? by the Chair, Alison Griffin, at Wokingham Library and WDVTA representatives attended a Network Rail drop-in consultation event where members of the public could find out about, and challenge, NR's plans for clearing trees and vegetation along the line between Reading and Wokingham.