The proposal that the Arnesby
Loseby Charity Trust create 1 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.
For more information contact: Monica Dowson The Granary,
Arnesby. Tel 2478 296
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