Tree Project for Broomfield Park

After meeting with Lynden Reed, our new Council Tree Officer, the Friends are developing a 'Tree Plan' for Broomfield Park. This will be funded initially from our existing funds but to plant trees that are mature enough to stand a good chance of survival and to become large park trees, we will need to make this a focus of our fundraising in 2020/21. 

Our current plans for this planting season include:

• Replacing three fallen Weeping Willows around the model boating pond and the lower lake.
• Starting a program of replacing fallen/dying Horse Chestnuts (casualties of bleeding canker and leaf miner beetle). We are going to plant an avenue of Liquidambar Styracifluar (American Sweetgum) at intervals and in place of already fallen Horse Chestnuts in the avenue leading from the Coronation Gates enclosing the 'green gym'. We plan to plant eight initially this year.
• To replace two fallen Horse Chestnuts by the fence on Aldermans Hill with two Tylia Cordata (Small Leaf Lime).
• New planting on the southern bank of the Wetland. A copse of Alder, with a mix of red, grey and common Alder. This should give a delightful combination of bark colours, catkins and small cones especially attractive to different variety of wildlife (insects and small birds) and children. To plant a Weeping Willow, recently donated by a Friend of the park.
• Further planting of the native hedgerow around the park perimeter to develop habitat, reduce particulate and noise pollution within the park. We have a further donation of 940 whips from The Conservation Volunteers coming in late January and the Enfield Society have  donated us an interesting selection of small trees currently growing in their tree nursery.
• A Tree Nursery - we have already started a tree nursery in the Community Orchard and Growing Space with saplings grown on from local acorns or seedlings and plan to develop this with other locally sourced seeds from different tree varieties. When grown as small trees these will be planted in the park at sites agreed with the Tree Officer over the coming years.
• Future planting ideas: new trees to provide shade on the South bank next to the Childrens Playground; groups of trees to help screen the view of the netball/tennis courts from the Western field; a new row of trees parallel to the footpath on the East border of the park.

This project follows on from the document we published on the website in March - 'Environmental and Climate Change Actions in Broomfield Park' and is an important further step in maintaining and developing natural habitat and supporting biodiversity in our park. In choosing trees we have to take into consideration factors such as disease resistance, adaptation to likely climate change and biosecurity. We will ensure that any tree suppliers follow guidelines which respect these values.

We will need the support of volunteers in 2021 to help with planting, aftercare and fundraising and will be sending Newsletters on our Facebook Page to publicize this.

Kim Lumley

David March

Co-Chairs Friends of Broomfeld Park