Though a small village in numbers, more than 40 Thornham Magna residents came together despite a rainstorm, meeting in the cosy village hall, fire lit with local wood, to plant trees and shrubs.  It turned out to be a fun and successful occasion in which 12 native trees and 52 shrubs were planted by children and local householders.

Under the attentive eyes of Nick Bennett and Stephen Schwarz, all trees and shrubs were expertly planted, and we shall watch with anticipation as they leaf out in Spring.  The ultimate aim is to provide a continuous wildlife corridor throughout the main street in Thornham, which will enhance the environment for years to come both for local wildlife, flora and fauna, and the residents fortunate to live in what is a unique village.

Each tree was given a plaque to indicate guardianship by a child within our community, who will look after and nurture these trees.  Their names are as follows:

• Ella Belsey
• Florence Balmer
• George Belsey
• Gyr Balmer
• Hannah Dobson
• Henrietta Fawcett
• Jasmine Balmer
• Lisa Dobson
• Rhiannon Hatton
• Richard Hatton
• Rory Stiff
• Rosie Hall
• Russell Hatton
• Samuel Stiff

The planting was followed by a delicious lunch of home-made soup and rolls, with tea, coffee and cake, made and organised by the trustees of the village hall.

Younger children and younger at heart adults were entertained by fun activities organised by Sylvie Fawcett in the village hall, including decorating your own Christmas tree biscuits; as well as colouring in and learning about how to identify trees from their leaves.

Our thanks go to the following local persons who assisted with this event.

• Alice Martin, MSDC assistant tree officer for her practical advice on species choice and contributing the trees, stakes and guards
• Carrie Bewick from MSDC for assisting with Breathing Spaces resource material – the t-shirts especially were especially popular
• Helen Sibley of Thornham Walks for the loan of the spades, fluorescent jackets safety signs, and metal plaques for the trees
• David Mitchell for supplying the mulch
• Jim of Workhouse Road also for supplying tree mulch
• Stephen Schwarz for production of the village poster

And a big thank you to all those volunteers who came to support the Thornham Magna Community Tree Planting Event and to the whole committee whose enthusiasm and energy made this possible.

The parish aims to continue an annual tree planting programme through different parts of the village through the coming years.