Celebrate this year's National Tree Week

26 November 2020

In November each year we celebrate National Tree Week, running from 28 November to 6 December, recognising trees and their importance plus this week marks the start of the winter tree planting season, which typically runs from November to March.

The Parks Trust are guardians of over 6,000 acres of greenspace, that makes up 25% of the city. This year on top of our normal planting, which can exceed 30,000 plants and 40,000 bulbs, The Parks Trust will also be planting an additional 1,250 native trees such as Oak, Cherry, Small Leaved Lime Oak, Hornbeam and evergreen Yew, in various places across the city, partly to replace Ash trees, that have unfortunately been infected with Ash Dieback

If you would like to get involved in celebrating National Tree week, we’ve created a series of activities below that will encourage you to learn more about the trees within our parkland and the vital role they play. If you visit our social media channels throughout this week, you’ll be able to see our spotlight tree series where you’ll be able to learn about a new species of tree each day. We also be sharing a whole host of downloadable activities on our website that get you out and about exploring the parks.

If you’re looking for family activities, scroll down to download our Tree Identification sheet and teach your children about nature, you can do this activity whilst out for a walk but it’s also possible to do this from the comfort of home by getting in to your garden or looking through a window. For younger children we’ve also developed a learning activity that encourages them to find different leaf types to create a leaf kebab, this is a great activity to do from your local park. Our autumn leaf challenge is also a fun activity to get involved with as you hunt for beautiful leaves across our parkland.

For those looking for a slightly different activity and a way to unwind, why not try our Mindfulness Walk at The Tree Cathedral or our Forest Bathing activity, both of which help you relax, switch off and connect to the beauty of nature.

In addition to the above, this year we also launched our Acorn Collection programme, where we encouraged members of the public and schools to help collect Acorns from our ancient woodlands. Over the next two years these acorns will be grown and nurtured by the individuals, until they are ready to be returned to The Parks Trust and planted back in our woodlands.

Rob Riekie Landscape and Operations Director says ‘It’s been brilliant to see so many residents and schools across Milton Keynes take part in our Acorn Collection scheme, to date we’re had almost 4,000 acorns collected and planted. After two years, we’ll collect these from their growers and replant them in our woodlands. As part of our strategy to maintain the woodland and its historic character and richness of biodiversity, we need to replace the lost and dying Ash trees with species of trees that are native to the woodland, such as Oak and this collection drive is a fantastic way of getting the community involved’.

Let us know what you do to celebrate National Tree Week by tagging @theparkstrust on social media!

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Take part in our Tree Week activities:

Discover our parks

Howe Park Wood
Facilities:
Howe Park is probably the woodland mentioned in the Domesday Survey of 1086. Parts of it may be rare surviving fragments of the 'wildwood' that covered the whole of lowland Britain after the last Ice Age, 6-11,000 years ago.
Refreshments
There is a Café at Howe Park Wood ran by Grounds. The café is operating a takeaway only service until further notice.
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Ouzel Valley Park
Facilities:
The Ouzel Valley Park meanders from Caldecotte Lake in the south to Willen Lake in the north. The park has a spacious, open atmosphere with long views. Much of the land is farmed by The Parks Trust rearing our own cattle and sheep, between the livestock you can still see the remnants of an old field system with the ridge and furrow still visible. Incorporating the historic villages of Woolstone and Woughton, the park is bordered on its western side by the Grand Union Canal.
Refreshments
There is the Ye Olde Swan pub at Woughton on the Green and a further two pubs - the Barge and the Cross Keys – that are located on Newport Road in Woolstone village.
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Campbell Park
Facilities:
Located at the heart of Milton Keynes, Campbell Park hosts many of Milton Keynes’ major festivals and events. Its imaginative mix of formal gardens, water features, woodland and open pasture mean it’s an ideal spot to enjoy the changing seasons.
Refreshments
There are no refreshment facilities in Campbell Park other than during special events. However, there are a wealth of cafes, bars and restaurants in the nearby city centre, theatre district and Xscape centre.
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Great Linford Manor Park
Facilities:
Great Linford Manor Park is a special, heritage-rich park set within the old village of Great Linford. It contains features that were first laid out centuries ago, including ponds and a Wilderness Garden which represent the English Landscape style of garden design that became popular for country estates during the 18th Century.
Refreshments
Refreshments and food can be found nearby at The Black Horse and the Nag’s Head which are open for lunch and supper. Milton Keynes Arts Centre has a small café where drinks can be purchased.
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Linford Wood
Facilities:
Enclosed in the year 1264 by Baron Von Pippard, the original owner of the Linford Manor estate, Linford Wood is the largest and oldest of the Trust's three ancient woodlands. Despite its location close to the city centre, Linford Wood provides a tranquil haven for wildlife and people. Find out more about how we manage Linford Wood by clicking here.
Refreshments
There are no facilities within the wood but hot and cold drinks and other refreshments are available from the BP garage on the west side of the wood.
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Stanton Low Park
Facilities:
Stanton Low Park lies to the north of Milton Keynes and offers attractive views across the valley of the River Great Ouse. It is one of Milton Keynes’ more recently-created parks (officially opened in 2016) and lies between the Oakridge Park residential area and the Linford Lakes Nature Reserve. A children’s play area has been provided for use by local residents.
Refreshments
Refreshments are available from the nearby Black Horse pub next to the Grand Union Canal. There are shops selling food at the Oakridge Park Local Centre.
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Nature inspired activities and resources which you can do at home or in your local parks.
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