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University establishes tree nursery for Heslington East

Posted on 13 March 2008

From seedling to maturity, locally grown young trees nurtured in a special nursery will have a key role to play in the development of the University of York’s £500 million campus expansion.

The University has established a five-acre plot to cultivate nearly 40,000 trees and shrubs that will have an integral part in landscaping the extended campus at Heslington East.

The University’s Estates Department will shortly be starting to plant thousands of whips and transplants, sourced from Johnsons of Whixley Ltd’s site at Wilberfoss. The seedlings will stay at the nursery, protected by a rabbit-proof fence, to allow them to become accustomed to local soil and climatic conditions before being transplanted to other parts of the site.

We have sourced the first batch of whipsaw transplants locally

Gordon Eastham

Gordon Eastham, the University’s Grounds Maintenance Manager who is overseeing the nursery, said: "We have sourced the first batch of whipsaw transplants locally and it is our intention to continue to do that because we feel that seedlings from this area will thrive better."

Mostly native species are being chosen, principally oak, ash, field maple, wild cherry, silver birch, mountain ash, crab-apples, hawthorn, and blackthorn.

Mr Eastham added: "There’s a tremendous amount of landscaping to go into this project, it is integral to the development of that site and trees are a key part of it. In many ways, the landscaping is as significant as the built environment, and we are placing enormous importance on making it a real asset to this area.

"Existing trees will be retained where possible and, along with the huge number of new trees, they will help us to diversify habitats to encourage wildlife. There are a number of oak trees already on the site, and we have collected as many oak seedlings as possible to grow on and become part of the tree cover."

Nigel Coultas, Director of Amenity Sales at Johnsons of Whixley, said: "We are delighted to be associated with such a prestigious local project and are really pleased at the way in which the University has approached the question of environmental impact. We have six specialist production units in the Vale of York and although we grow and then send plants all over the UK, we are very much a local company and it will be extremely satisfying for everyone at Johnson’s to watch this project mature in the years to come."

ENDS