On Wednesday 24th June, Oaks class visited Grove Woods on one of the hottest days this year so far. The trees of Vicarage Grove gave us some welcome shade and a cooler place to consider ‘What threatens trees?’
The obvious first suggestion was, extreme weather. Heat , drought, floods and high winds all threaten trees . As we walked through Grove Piece we saw evidence of deer, hare and rabbit damage where tree guards had been removed too early and browsing animals had ripped the bark off several small trees. The skeletons of several ash trees stand in the hedge , where ash die back has killed trees and sadly some of the oaks of Vicarage Grove show signs of sudden oak death. So the children could see first hand some of the threats that trees face. Travelling along the A12 in recent months has demonstrated how developments and road construction require trees to be felled and the class were aware of this. Fortunately, there is no sign of vandalism threatening trees in Grove Woods but it was mentioned as a possibility elsewhere.
The class were then given a ball of clay, dug from the wood, to make a face of a tree guardian on the trunk of a tree. As they worked they were asked to invent a tale of how their tree guardian might protect trees. This creative thinking ties in with work the class are doing on plays such as “A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ and the theatrical staging of such tales.
The class had lots of ideas on how their guardians would protect trees which ranged from scary screams, repetitive bad dreams to quiet reasoning and explanation. So let’s hope they work!
Blyth Woods 