Don’t miss the next tree planting event at Heartwood

Tree planting weekend at Heartwood

Last weekend we once again got stuck into creating Heartwood Forest. On Saturday hundreds of people came along to enjoy the beautiful winters day and plant thousands of trees that will make up Heartwood Forest.

Hundreds of spades waiting for tree planters

Sunday was a special day in the Jewish Calender – Jewish new year of the tree and to celebrate four Hertfordshire synagogues planted over thousand trees at Heartwood. All of the groups sang songs to keep warm and a local violinist accompanied with Jewish klezmer music. 

If you joined us on one of these events then thank you for your help and support. Leave us your comments here and encourage more people to join in next time.

 If you missed these events don’t worry we’ll be doing it all again on Sunday 14th February. Poster coming soon with all the details. We hope to see you there.

Tree planting opportunity this weekend

The weather forecast for the weekend is looking good; some much needed winter sun. If you’re looking for something to do that will help you soak up some vitamin D then why not come along to our tree planting event tomorrow. We’ll be tree planting all day at Heartwood Forest from 11am-3pm. There’ll be plenty of trees but if you can, bring a spade. Hope to see you there.

Snow halts tree planting event

Due to the snow at Heartwood unfortunately the tree planting event on 16 January has been postponed until Saturday 30th January. 

You can find all the details you need for the day on the poster below. We hope to see you there!

Heartwood in the Snow

I know it causes all sorts of problems on the roads, getting to work, closed schools etc but isn’t it pretty! I wanted to share some of these pictures of Heartwood Forest in the snow with you. 

Looking back over the last year

Just over twelve months ago Heartwood Forest didn’t even have a name. It has gone from unknown, inaccessible arable land to an area open for all. A lot has been achieved in this time for the benefit of people and wildlife.

We have enjoyed introducing people to the site, sharing our hopes for the forest and listening to local people. We’ve held bluebell walks, had a big summer festival and invited local school children to find out more. After carrying out extensive consultation and completing our Environmental Statement we could finally start to plant trees. In just two week we planted 30,000 trees with the help of the local community, cubs, scouts and cadets and nearly 1000 children from our school planting week.

The New Year will be just as exciting with more tree planting events, orienteering opportunities, another big summer festival and more days spent admiring the bluebells! Our next community tree planting event will be on 16th Jan (all details on poster below) so we hope to see you there.

We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has made this project a reality. Thank you for your support, generosity and help in creating Heartwood Forest. Wishing everyone a Happy Christmas and a joyful New Year.

Photos from the World Record Attempt

And they're off, planting four trees a minute!

Sheila Burton, our independent verifier checking we're abiding by the rules

One of the ten teams who helped us beat the world record

Over 20,000 trees planted in 60 minutes…

Saturday was another eventful day at Heartwood Forest. We had a go at the World Record Attempt to plant the most number of trees by 100 volunteers in just 60 minutes at a single location. The previous holders were the Forestry Commission in Scotland with 18,124 trees planted within the hour.

We had two Woodland Trust sites taking part in this, Heartwood Forest and Hainault Forest in Essex. The third site was one of our partnership sites in Northern Ireland in Derry. The great news is that all three sites smashed the current record but there inevitably had to be a winner – big drum roll please:

• In third place with 20,312 trees planted – Hainault Forest in Essex
• In second place with 20,326 trees planted – Heartwood Forest
• And the world record goes to Gransha Wood in Derry with 26,422 trees planted

Although we didn’t manage to snatch the world record it was a fantastic day that lots and lots of people got involved in and hopefully went away loving trees as much as we do! We have also contributed to better future wildlife habitats and a great place for people too.

If you would like to see some of the action from the day this link will take you to a short video of the day. Photos coming soon.

If you took part let us know how your team got on and your thoughts on the day.

The creation of Heartwood Forest gets underway

Last Saturday was a very special day for everyone who has been involved with Heartwood Forest. After many months of planning and hard work the very first trees were planted and the whole community celebrated by planting trees.

Lady Verulam, the patron of the project was there to say and few words about how special this project is and plant one of the very first trees, as well as our chief executive, Sue Holden and three children who have taken part in our Tree For All tree planting project. 

From left to right Lady Verulam, Sue Holden, James Sinclair, Emily Morris and Daniel Shadbolt

The day continued with everyone joining in and having a go at planting trees. It was a fantastic day, the weather was kind and we managed to plant nearly 5,000 trees. If you did come along to this special event then I hope you enjoyed it, let us know your thoughts on here.

The local community mucking in and helping to create Heartwood Forest

If you missed out on this event then why not come along to one of the planned events in the New Year: 16 Jan, 14 and 15 Feb and 21 March 2010. Check back for more details coming soon.

Our very first tree planting event is announced…

It’s finally here – Heartwood Forests first tree planting event and you are invited!

Come and see the very first trees planted at Heartwood on 28th November at 12pm. You can then have a go yourself and start to create what will be England’s largest new woodland.

There will be free hot soup for everyone who gets to Heartwood without their car and on a day like today that will be very welcome!

Please note there will unfortunately be no parking at Heartwood. The fields are all too wet and we don’t yet have our own car park so if you need to come by car please head to Townsend School, High Oaks, St Albans,  AL3 6DR where a coach will take you to and from the planting site. Otherwise make your way to the scout hut on Sandridgebury Lane where there will be signs and volunteers to show you the way to the planting site.

There’ll be more community planting events in the New Year so if you can’t make it to this one don’t worry - events are also planned for 16 January, 14 February and 21 March 2010.

For alternative ways to get to Heartwood see our cycle route map and list of bus and train timetables for more information.

Looking forward to seeing you there!