Volunteers plant trees in Jubilee Park in Hatfield

The public-spirited gardeners planted 250 saplings in Hatfield’s Jubilee Park, with 20 varieties of trees and shrubs established to add beauty and variety to the popular walking and play area.

Thanks to pre-planning, the job was completed in less than 90 minutes. Organiser, Peter Wyatt, said: “This is an ideal project for Rotary groups to put their funds and effort into as it benefits everyone and encourages community involvement.”

Tree species planted include oak, alder, birch, hornbeam, rowan, cherry, maple, hazel, crab apple, willow, blackthorn, rose, dogwood and beech.

Nature Conservancy calculates that, in terms of carbon offset, planting seven trees would trap enough carbon to compensate for one person travelling to Alicante and back and put oxygen back into the atmosphere.

The Rotary Club of Doncaster has already arranged tree-trimming weekends and brought in contractors to dig a defensive ditch to deter late-night incursions by quad bikes and 4x4 vehicles. Hatfield Town Council have promised to install pedestrian-only entries at a number of points, although motorcycle riders are still a problem.

Friends of Jubilee Park continue to clear litter from the park on a daily basis and have planted out daffodils and snowdrops. Wildflower seeds mixes to benefit, bees butterflies and birds are to be sown on the 150 yards of earth bunds created by the earlier ditch digging exercise.

Friends Secretary, Dave Ketteridge, warned against dumping plastics and added: ”I was amazed how everyone got stuck in and the job was completed in no time, with rabbit guards in place as well. It will take some time for everything to get established but we plan to feed them and keep them clear of weeds, so we get a better show earlier than previous plantings in the park.

“I urge everyone to put their litter in the bins.”