The future of Billericay’s Sun Corner is most definitely green after the planting of trees to create a small woodland.
Volunteers Neil Sumner and Nathan Hume braved the cold on Saturday morning to help plant over 35 trees.
Neil, chair of the Mill Meadows Society and a member of Essex Wildlife Trust, said there are plans for another 170 to be planted later this month.
He said: “I think the benefits of trees are not just for the aesthetic pleasure.
“Trees provide oxygen, improve air quality and conserve water and soil, as well as making the fields a nicer area to walk in.
“They also offer an appeal across landscapes and what we are trying to do at Living Landscapes is create a stepping stone environment for nature.”
The trees, donated by Billericay Round Table, consist of oak, wild cherry, hawthorn and birch and will be joined by 170 more saplings by the end of the month.
Neil, who is working towards providing an improved habitat for wildlife in Billericay, was at the centre of the renovation of the pond at Sun Corner.
He said: “If you improve areas for wildlife then it will give them a very good habitat and they won’t be isolated.
“There is a kestrel that hovers at Sun Corner and if we provided an environment for voles and other animals then that will attract more kestrels.
“It is a bit like the pond at Sun Corner that we helped renovate last year.
“There were problems with frogs because they were inter-breeding and we managed to help the situation by giving them a better environment.”
The work carried out by Neil is still not finished and he says he plans to return to Sun Corner to make further additions to the area.
He said: “This is part of Living Landscapes, Essex Wildlife Trust’s vision to recreate, restore and reconnect habitats for wildlife.
“We also plan to plant more trees around the boundaries and introduce a strip or corner of meadow to encourage wildflowers and have renovated the pond.”
