Volunteers from around Guernsey have been talking about the benefits of planting trees – both for themselves and the environment.
Finance professional Pete Bowker started volunteering with Guernsey Trees for Life last year along with his two sons.
He said planting trees was “good for the soul”, adding that his sons would “hopefully get to come back in a few years and see what they’ve done”.
He said the other volunteers were a “good crowd – very friendly, very welcoming”.
“I met a few people here today that I haven’t seen for a year or so, but were back chatting like your friends again.”
Mr Bowker was taking part in Guernsey Trees for Life’s latest planting at Les Piques, in St Saviour, on Saturday.
The event had originally been planned for early January, but was postponed when Storm Goretti hit the Channel Islands.
Organiser Andy McMutcheon said as well as looking attractive and protecting biodiversity, trees helped reduce wind speeds by many miles per hour – protecting islanders and their property during storms.
Since last month’s storm, the charity has raised more than £14,000 to help future plantings.
Mr McCutcheon said: “We’re hoping that the States might add to that, as well as businesses and members of the public.
“This is an appeal to the island, not just to individuals.”
Each tree costs up to £8 to plant, he said, so a single site could cost several thousand pounds, excluding volunteers’ time.
‘Good for biodiversity’
A considerable amount of thought went into which trees to plant, Mr McCutcheon explained.
“You take into account the exposure and the level of shade,” he said, “So, on this site we want to put high light-demanding species – such as oak – in more open areas.
“You’ve got your ground flora, then you’ve got your understorey, then you’ve got your canopy trees.
“Having that matrix of different structures within the same type of habitat is very good for biodiversity.”
As well as individual volunteers, he said Guernsey Trees for Life also works with corporates – such as Channel Island Fuels, Sarnia Hotels and Guernsey Electricity – who often donate money as well as having staff volunteer their time to plant specific sites.
Occupational health worker Martha Le Podevin has a personal connection to the site where the trees were being planted this weekend.
Her family once owned Les Piques Farm and still owns a small pocket of land there – which the family hoped to turn into a nature reserve once the trees had matured.
Ms Le Poidevin’s aunt, Jo Phillips, said the land had originally been used for heifers as it wasn’t easy to farm.
“This was our dad’s farm, so it means a lot to myself and my brother.”
Semi-retired trust fund manager Paul has been planting trees for about five seasons.
He said it was a “different pace” from his normal job, adding: “I quite enjoyed this sort of thing.”
While Paul was already on his second planting of the season, his son Henry was here for the very first time.
Henry is a keen member of the Eco Club at Blanchelande College so it was “good to try and start roping him in for this”, Paul said.