A HISTORY OF ANDOVER TREES

“Happy trees, happy planet, happy people!” - 11-year old Emily

Since we founded the project in 2011, we are proud of the achievements of our community and are honoured to have been recognised for our contributions to young people, the environment and the community we live in and serve.

Extract from the Guardian: “Mighty oaks from little acorns grow” is a phrase nobody understands better than Andover Trees United. Established in 2011 by teacher Wendy Davis, the project’s aim was to ensure that every young person in the Hampshire town and surrounding area planted a tree in their school nursery bed, later moving it to a dedicated woodland space.

“We wanted it to be something that would bring together the community,” says Oonagh Pope, 63, a retired teacher who helped Davis plant the very first batch of saplings at Portway Junior School.

Since then 4,000 trees have been planted in Andover’s seven-acre Harmony Wood, and things show no sign of slowing down.

More than 25 Andover schools are currently involved in the scheme, with children ranging from primary to sixth-form level. Although nothing would have been possible without a strong team of school support gardeners, the children have been an essential part of the process, mucking in on everything from logo design to seeking out the newest planting spots.

Sebastian Duff, 11, regularly gives presentations and attends meetings to engage more children in the project.

“I know how much impact it has on the climate,” he says. “This is a project for kids, and we’re very motivated by it.”

Andover Trees is also involved in the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) global initiative Plant-for-the-Planet, which is striving to reduce CO2 emissions to zero by 2050.

Above: Pupils at Balksbury Junior School, Andover with Mr Coombs (deputy head).
Photograph: Suki Dhanda for the Observer.

In 2016 Hampshire Gardens Trust awarded us the Peter Maunder trophy.

The trophy is awarded for an outstanding contribution from a person involved in school gardening. Sue Stuart, Chair of Education Committee, said:

“This year we award it to Andover Trees United Trustees and all the local schools for their continued work in developing Harmony Wood. Their commitment to raising awareness of the outdoor environment is reflected in varied and imaginative learning opportunities in the woodland. The achievements for creating the wood through projects that involved parents, the community and, most importantly, the children are inspirational.”

BETWEEN THE BARROWS

Teams from the Department of Archeology at the University of Southampton are invited every year to conduct a dig on the Harmony Woods site. The dig involves a number of members of the community and local schools.

In 2017 we took on two more sites:

• a community allotment to serve as a tree nursery bed and

• a small piece of Woodland Trust hazel woodland for volunteer training

Also in 2017…with thanks to Ecover’s Ethical Awards prize money, a generous Postcode Lottery Grant and the help of Taylor Wimpey - work began on a volunteer base and study room - The Cabin!

In 2019 we were awarded a #GrowWild Grant for Flower Bed Storytime and our first Graduate Ecology Intern.

THE CPRE Hampshire Countryside Awards Sustainable Communities Award

2023 AWARD winners - The Cabin at harmony woods, ANDOVER TREES UNITED

Campaign to Protect Rural England, Hampshire:

Andover Trees have been working on an ambitious project to build an off-grid, sustainable classroom and field study base at Harmony Woods, a community woodland in Andover. The cabin has been carefully crafted to fit in with its landscape and be sensitive to its surroundings. This versatile facility will transform the community-planted woodland, making possible forest schools, training programmes, craft workshops and importantly, space for volunteers.

What the judges said:

“This is an excellent application well aligned with the aims of the sustainable community award. It is a well thought out project, using locally-sourced materials, involving the local community in its creation and in its build, and with long term benefit to the local community. The organisers have been imaginative in involving the community in its construction and in using this as an opportunity to teach new skills. The use of hyper-local materials and low impact building techniques is impressive as are other sustainable aspects of the build such as rooftop solar and water capture and storage. The supporting letters from local schools support the long term community benefit of this scheme.”