The 12 year old Scout and I, significantly older than him, looked at the rowan sapling we had just planted. It was about 25cm’s high; how tall would it be when he left school at 18? Perhaps 1 1/2 metres, we decided. 

That day, 18th December, 24 saplings, rowan, silver birch and wild cherry, had just been planted in St. John’s churchyard by 24 representatives of the Merrow churches and community groups. It was a cool, overcast day, but mercifully dry, and we later brushed the earth off our hands and tucked into tea and cakes.   

We were planting trees to honour the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. To celebrate her seventy years of service to the nation, she asked that a “Green Canopy” be planted across her realm. The Woodland Trust gave away three million free trees for community groups to plant and on that Saturday here we were, doing our bit.

If the Scout and I are right, those saplings will grow in time to provide shelter for wildlife, insects and birds, provide shade, peace and calm to visitors and even help the world’s carbon balance.

You can see more photos from the day here.

Robert Avis