You are invited to come and see the progress of the new woodland created by the Arnesby Loseby Charity Trust.

For more information or if you need help getting there, contact Monica, 2478296.

The proposal that the Arnesby Loseby Charity Trust create one acre of woodland on part of the unused land at the allotment site has been greeted with great interest, enthusiasm and generosity by residents of Arnesby. This bulletin is to give more information about the proposal and progress to date.

The total cost of the works will be £5,400 of which £2,700 needs to be raised by donations. Already Trustee Monica Dowson has received a total of £800 in pledges, cheques and cash and many offers of help with tree planting and she would like to thank everyone who has responded so far. In an earlier circular Monica gave a guideline figure of £10 or multiples of £10 for pledges and donations, and she points out that the Charity will, of course, gratefully accept any amount.

Monica has applied for a SHIRE grant from Leics County Council for 50% of the cost (ie £2700). The meeting to decide if the grant will be awarded will be held on 13 December 2005, but the initial assessor has already informed her that it is seen as an excellent proposal, particularly because of the community involvement in the scheme.

The scheme is to plant 800 Leicestershire trees including hazel, oak, ash, maple, viburnam, dog rose, dogwood, alder, grey willow, walnut and holly. The dogwood was included at the suggestion of the assessor because he thought it would look particularly good close to one of the ponds.
Update (Bulletin No. 3 - end Feb. 2006)
Monica reports that the project has gone extremely well to date. With the help of many villagers, over 900 Leicestershire trees have been planted, including hazel, oak, ash, maple, viburnam, dog rose, dogwood, alder, grey willow, walnut and holly. The two ponds have been dug and are half full of water. There is still work to be done on the entrance gate and wild flowers and pond plants will be sowed and planted in a month or so.

An official opening event will be hold later in the year and Monica hopes that as many villagers as possible will be present.

This project has all been made possible by the generosity and enthusiasm of Arnesby people. With half the cost being met by the SHIRE grant, the rest has been raised by donations from villagers and the Arnesby May Fayre. If you have not yet made a donation and wish to do so, please contact Monica on the number below.

About the Loseby Charity Trust

The Charity Trust dates from the 1850s and was set up for the benefit of the people of Arnesby to enable them to use the land for growing fruit and vegetables. Since then the Trustees have also felt the desire to promote good environmental practice.
The Trust owns the land south of Arnesby where the allotments are sited and the Trustees resolved to convert one acre of arable land into woodland.
Not all of the land is let as allotments and hence the woodland project was proposed to provide an amenity that the whole village can enjoy and provide a lasting environmental legacy for the future.