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 2015:

“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 the naming of the wood] to seeking out the newest planting spots.”

Above: 2015 Pupils at Balksbury Junior School, Andover with Mr Coombs (2015 deputy head).
Photograph: Suki Dhanda for the Observer.

2016 Hampshire Gardens Trust’s 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 2016-2026

Teams from the Department of Archeology at the University of Southampton have conducted a dig on the Harmony Woods site every year bar one since 2016. The dig involves members of the community and local schools. This year, 2026, will be the 10th dig and runs from June 13th - July 5th. If you’d like to take part contact abbey.sadler@andovertrees.org.uk

In 2017 two more WORKING sites WERE ADDED:

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

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

flowerbed storytime 2019

In 2019 Andover Trees United was awarded a #GrowWild Grant for Flowerbed Storytime and the charity’s first Graduate Ecology Intern was appointed.

EXPLORE MORE videos:

Watch the video created by CPRE Hampshire as part of 2023 Awards (below)

THE CPRE* Hampshire Countryside Awards 2023

Sustainable Communities Award winner - The Cabin at harmony woods, ANDOVER TREES UNITED

*Campaign to Protect Rural England, Hampshire

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.”