Confessions of...a tree planter

Peter O’Donohoe is head of corporate campaigns within BT’s Brand team. He is also a seasoned tree-planter, joining other volunteers from across the breadth of the company to plant saplings on behalf of the Woodland Trust. Here, Peter describes a recent day in the woods on tree-planting business...

One Tuesday last November, I spent a day in rural Essex planting trees as a volunteer. It wasn’t the first time I’d taken a day out of the office to do this, and it won’t be the last. Not only does it feel great to ‘do one’s bit’ towards the conservation of the country’s woodlands, there’s a real buzz about being out of doors, getting involved and experiencing a whole day of activity with friends old and new.

That particular Tuesday began with a rendezvous with the other welly-clad volunteers aboard the bus, which sped us to our destination - Havering Wood near Romford. This is one of more than 1,000 woods across the UK that are cared for by the Woodland Trust - the UK’s leading charity dedicated solely to the protection of our native woodland heritage.

All of us seemed quite relieved that the bustle of the big city was not on our agendas that day. We had been freed from the concrete and congestion!

On arrival at Havering Wood, we were met by the Woodland Trust’s Tony Chadwick who spoke with great enthusiasm about the woods. Tony’s knowledge is seemingly endless and by the end of the day I knew the difference between a wood and a forest, got to grips with pollarding and other similar medieval woodland practices, and was surprised to learn just how little of the UK was covered by forest at the time of the Norman Conquest. Look these up on the Woodland Trust website if you want to impress your city dwelling neighbours.

Tony made it clear to us that we all have such a remarkable living heritage, with vast bio-diversity so close to hand. Yet I for one rarely visit these places. However, when I do, I find it so incredibly peaceful, therapeutic, and literally a breath of fresh air.

Can you dig it?

After being invited to produce some ‘woodlands art’ – fashioning sculptural masterpieces using only materials gathered from the woods (a task which caused great hilarity and a healthy dose of inter-team competition), we were guided to the tree planting area on the edge of the existing woodland.

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