In 2018, our village Tree Warden, Pene Nudds, was inspired by the efforts of the Village Society in creating the poppies for the anniversary of World War One, alongside the commemorative flags that were produced by Impington Village College. As someone who is passionate about trees, she thought it would be appropriate to acknowledge the soldiers who had paid the ultimate price in the war with a more lasting tribute in the form of long living English Oak (Quercus robur) trees.

Her idea was presented to the Environment Committee at the Parish Council, who approved the project, and it was decided to locate the trees at The Copse on New Road, Impington. The trees were duly ordered and Acacia Tree Surgery chosen as the contractor to undertake the clearance work and planting of the trees.  Acacia were so keen to help with the commemorative project that they generously provided free of charge the stakes needed for the trees and suitable biodegradable fabric ties. A date was booked for the work to happen in March…..

And then the pandemic hit; the contractors all stopped work and we placed a hold on the delivery of the trees. As things started to return to normal, we replanned everything and settled for a delivery date of October 16^th with the preparation work taking place in the preceding days. The trees duly arrived, as show in this picture, and were unloaded, creating a temporary forest!

The trees themselves are quite large, so the planting has happened over several days. They are now all in place, awaiting their chipping dressing to keep the area weed and ivy free in the short term.  Now that they are in place, we intend to install markers for the trees using IVC’s flag design (with permission) and a number to identify each one.  We also intend to commission an information board to explain the story and show the spiral trail of these special trees. We hope this will prove to be not only a reminder of historic event, but will also become a much loved and respected trail. In this COVID-19 year Histon & Impington Parish Council are pleased that the WW1 Oaks are in place ahead of 2020 Remembrance Day.