Golden Wood and wildflower meadowTo our children’s, children’s, children

Golden Wood consists of approximately twoacres of agricultural land which waspurchased in 2004 from local landowners andsupporters, Richard and Hazel Wrinch. This

land will be held inperpetuity as woodland andwildflower meadow by thelocal community.

On the left hand side ofGolden Wood as you look

north, you will see thegraceful curve of more than1300 native hedging plantscomprising - hawthorn,

blackthorn, myrobalan plum,dog rose, field maple, dogwood,hazel and holly, with crab apple

at intervals. These wereplanted in the spring of2004 and funded by Suffolk

Coast and Heaths project.

The older children in Shotley primary schoolplanted more than twenty trees, includingsmall-leaved lime, alder, oak and hornbeamand in the spring of 2005 a further threehundred trees were planted by volunteers.Most of the oaks have been grown on fromacorns gathered from local, veteran trees.

In time, Golden Wood will provide food,shelter and good habitat for many nestingbirds while the open rides following the

footpath will favour many species of insectsincluding butterflies and dragonflies. Morethan sixty species of wildflower can be seenthroughout the season with good numbersof primroses during the spring. There is a single cut of the vegetationonce the wildflowers have set theirseed and this is raked away to reduce thefertility of the land. This will promote manyspecies of wildflowers which are less able towithstand nutritious soil and morecompetitive plants which thrive under thoseconditions.

About Viking Forest Project

Viking Forest Projectwas born out of severalmeetings with the GreenLight Trust, anenvironmental charity thatworks locally in schoolsand communities.Their People PlantingTeam is made up ofe n v i r o n m e n t a l i s t s ,trainers and performersand draws on over tenyears experience andexpertise developedwith Forests for OurChildren, Green Light'sown successful project in Suffolk - and itsnationwide schools programme for TheWoodland Trust.

We are kindly supported by:

Babergh District CouncilShotley Parish CouncilSuffolk Coast and Heaths ProjectSuffolk County CouncilSuffolk Environmental TrustLocal groups and individual sponsorship

What's in a Name?

The name, Viking Forest Project, comes fromthe logo used by Shotley Primary Schooldepicting a Viking Longboat and was chosenby the Steering Group from a selection ofnames offered by our local children.

We are growing our own woodland andwildflower meadow and our aim is to be partof a nationwide patchwork of enrichedlandscapes and neighbourhoods.

We will focus on:

• Children inspiring children and youngpeople through active and creativeparticipation

• Community developing communityspirit through full and long-terminvolvement

• Wildlife planting only native andnaturalised trees to provide rich havens forwildlife

• Global Kinship fostering environmentallinks with communities of differentcultures

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1 Red Campion2 Common Alder3 Speckled Wood4 Painted Lady5 Peacock6 Bluebell7 Corn Cockle8 Primrose9 Hornbeam10 Field Maple11 Field Scabious

For more information about theViking Forest Project contactIan Peters on 01473 787460

Viking Forest Project