Dear Friends,
As you know, we have recently funded the purchasing and planting of 6 mature Downy Birch trees along the boundary with Owlstone Croft. They are all surrounded by a plastic mesh cage and have lots of woodchip. This needs soaking once a week.
Three are between the path and the fence, near the lodge. (It appears to be the site of an old rubbish tip!) This is to fill in the gap left after demolition of the nursery.
Two are further along the boardwalk, on left and opposite Queens’ felled poplar trees.
Mind the brambles!
The last is further along, on right, and immediately beside the boardwalk.
Hopefully these 3 will bulk up the boundary tree line for the bats, now out in numbers. Each tree needs 30 litres of water a week to survive and thrive. At present, a few volunteers are collecting river water to do this, but more help would be appreciated. Please contact me if you can volunteer to help Olwen, Brian and Dario.
In addition, if everyone walking in Paradise takes a bottle of water for the three higher up trees on the drier ground, that would be very helpful in ensuring that they grow into a strong green screen.
Volunteer river watering will continue weekly during May and June, and then we are employing Mercer Tree company (who planted the trees) for July and August. To do this we will need to raise funds, and will shortly be launching a Go Fund Me website to do so.
With thanks and best wishes,
Pam Gatrell
Chair of Friends of Paradise
Friends of Paradise Nature Reserve 