Published: 12/12/2024
The Parks Trust's Outdoor Learning Team has been working with schools from across the city to plant 530 trees and shrubs at two Milton Keynes parks.
Planting at Middleton Wood Meadow is now in its fourth year. This November students were given the challenge to plant gorse and sea buckthorn around the perimeter of the emerging woodland and ponds. It is hoped that the addition of some spikey undergrowth will help prevent dogs entering the area, allowing wildlife to thrive.
A new planting project was launched at Woughton on the Green where students are transforming an old horse paddock into a sweet chestnut plantation. The trees will take about 15 years to grow before they can be coppiced (cut to their base) and used for fence posts and bridges across the parks. The trees will then regrow before they are harvested again. This traditional practice of coppicing will make us more sustainable as it reduces our reliance on imported wood, and sweet chestnut is naturally resistant to rotting so it won’t require chemicals to treat it before use. The dynamic coppiced woodland will also provide a different type of habitat for wildlife.
A big thank you to all the students and staff who took part from Baytul Ilm Secondary School, Oakgrove Primary School, Middleton Primary School, The Woodlands School, Milton Keynes College, Shenley Brook End School, Glebe Farm School, Watling Academy, St Mary’s Wavendon, and Milton Keynes Academy. And a thank you to Community Trees MK, our volunteers and Youth Rangers.
To get your school involved in future planting opportunities, please contact our team on outdoorlearning@theparkstrust.com.
Find out how we care for over 6,000 acres of green space including parks, ancient woodlands, lakes, river valleys and 80 miles of landscaped areas along the grid roads.
