Devon SSSI nature reserve and eco lodges - Maggie's Blog

5 December

Tree o'clock at Wheatland Farm...

Thanks to 200 free trees the North Devon Biosphere, we took part in the BBC's Tree o'clock today - an attempt to beat the world record for planting as many trees as possible in an hour - 11 to 12 noon.

We're pround to have gold level approval from the Devon Wildlife Trust. Click here for more on our environmental policies.

It was all part of National Tree Week, organised to kick off the winter tree planting season by the Tree Council. And the trees also count towards the UN Environment Programme's Billion Tree Campaign - trying to get people to plant a billion trees a year across the globe.

All the trees were native species - we planted oak, ash, hazel, hawthorn, rowan, holly, and my favourite - blackthorn (love that early white blossom). They will help link up habitat from our Popehouse Moor nature reserve to other parts of the farm. We planted them in two areas of good soil, both produced by last year's pond reshaping. They're fenced off, so won't be munched by the cows. They will need a bit of TLC next year in terms of grass cutting, to stop them getting swamped, but that'll be a small price to pay for better and bigger habitat for dormice, birds and other wildlife.

So a huge vote of thanks to our neighbours, Gary and Fiona, Nisheetha from Hollocombe, Matt staying with his grandparents (other neighbours)and Carole and Nigel Rhodes plus daughter Claire and friend Hannah. And Ian, who did most of the preparation, and George who helped with the canes. I don't think Euan or I really count - though I did pop a couple in and Euan planted a dock stalk...

I took some clips with the video, but it played up again at the end. Never mind. You can see we all had fun - and it didn't even rain!

And the record? Currently held by the Philippines at 653,143. The UK will be collecting up results all this week to see how we've all done. Even if it's not a record breaker, a lot of trees got planted this weekend. I'd like to think George and Euan will see some of those grow to maturity, and hopefully many will still be going strong long after their time.