Seventy-seven volunteers braved wet conditions to descend upon Langford Lakes Christmas Tree farm to plant a Jubilee Wood. The planting was made possible by the generosity of the Hendy family, who invited the wood to be planted across a wet stretch of their land, allowing it to be converted from agricultural use to woodland, with public access to the site.

The freshly planted Jubilee Wood
The freshly planted Jubilee Wood (Tindle)

The project was made possible with grants from The Woodland Trust, Asda, the National Lottery and the Somerset Fund. The project, which was completed with the help of local schoolchildren, was said to have brought the village together.

Now those responsible for Langford’s Jubilee Wood hope theirs could be the first of many. The Wellington Weekly News visited the site to talk to the Hendy family, as well as organisers Ian Loudon and Paul Alway. They said that a public access gate is to be introduced, with the aim of it being in place by June.

The ‘official’ opening is set to be marked by drone photography of the site, with many planters set to return to mark the occasion. The village pop-up café will also be on hand for food and refreshments. Central to this planting project was a concern for sustainability and longevity.

From the left: Ian Loudon, Nick Hendy, Reg Hendy, Anne Hendy, Zac Hendy, Paul Alway
From the left: Ian Loudon, Nick Hendy, Reg Hendy, Anne Hendy, Zac Hendy, Paul Alway (Tindle)

As farm owner Reg Hendy, 79, said: “The children can come and see it planted now. They can come along with their children and show what they did. I want to see this going on and on. We need to plant for the future and for the children.”

Reg’s son Nick, 50, manages the farm. He talked about how that concern for the future informs the Langford Lakes business: "We are very conservation minded with the trees, we’re trying to reduce the use of chemicals – we haven’t added chemicals to our trees to remove aphids, we’ve let natural predators take them out and it’s worked really well.”

He added that the group were keen to see more projects of this kind, and that the volunteers are ready and willing to make it happen. He said: “The group of volunteers are willing to do it again, and they’re looking for another landowner to volunteer a section of their land.”

Paul Alway, of Runnington, agreed: “If another landowner said here’s half a hectare you can plant we could do it again.”