James Clark of Wilder Communities writes:
Wilder Communities has now completed our most recent green project in the Malmesbury Estate, in partnership with Trees for Cities and with the benefit of a grant from the Tower Hill Trust.
Bulb and meadow planting
There were two days of bulb planting in October 2021 during which the areas of focus were Harley Grove and Lawrence Close. During the first day, we were delighted to see around 100 young children from Malmesbury Primary School join. Many had never planted anything before and they were all fascinated about all the worms! The second day was attended by local residents.
The Assistant Head at Malmesbury Primary School said:
“I just wanted to write to let you know how much we all really enjoyed working with you and your team from Trees for Cities. The children are still talking about their experience with gardening from last week! As I said to you before, some of these children have never even dug a hole in soil before, let alone plant daffodil bulbs! And don’t get me started on how excited, amazed and in awe they all were with the amount of worms they saw! Thank you for such an amazing day and please pass on our appreciation to the rest of your team. Do let us know if you ever have any more opportunities for children to be involved with planting…I think we all have a bit of a green thumb now!”
3,400 bulbs were planted across the estate and, from the start of this year, the bulbs came into flower and brought lots of colour into the area.
With support from corporate volunteers, a large wildflower meadow was planted at Harley Grove on 27 October 2021.
The meadow and bulbs will provide nectar for bees, butterflies and other pollinators. In total around 300 square metres of amenity grassland was enhanced for wildlife.
Tree planting
Children from Malmesbury Primary School planted some of the trees on 29 and 30 March 2022, before the main community tree planting event on 2 April 2022. The event was great fun and very productive. There was also lots on offer for the kids to enjoy, including bubble play!
In total 30 trees were planted, primarily by Harley Grove, Whitton Walk, Creswick Walk and Lawrence Close, and they appear to be settling in well. This includes an orchard of ten fruit trees at Lawrence Close.
The support from the Tower Hill Trust helped get this green project off the ground and the partnership with Trees for Cities will help ensure the trees are maintained during the next three years, providing them with the best chance of success. The trees and other plants will make an invaluable contribution to the wellbeing of people on the Malmesbury Estate and support an array of wildlife.
Photos by Trees for Cities
