Plant a tree in celebration of life and love

Over 300 people attended last year’s event at Jubilee Fields in Sway, planting one of the Forest’s six native tree species, in the event run by the New Forest National Park Authority.

Registration is free and open to all, and the tree-planting will take place in Ashurst, New Forest on 3 December. Anyone who registers will receive a free personalised certificate as a memento, even if they cannot attend the tree-planting day.

Trees and woodlands are a key feature of the natural beauty of the Forest and they also make an important contribution to the appearance of towns and villages within the area. As the Family Trees woodland grows and matures, it will provide a legacy for future generations and provide a lasting tribute to a loved-one.

Senior Tree Officer, Nik Gruber, from the New Forest National Park Authority said: ‘Following the success of last year, we are delighted to be running the Family Trees event again. We have an ideal site with the Recreation Ground at Ashurst, with scope for new tree-planting and to enhance the existing trees that are there.’

New to 2016, children can also enter our competition to have their drawing used on this year’s certificate. The theme of the competition is ‘family trees’, and the winning design will be picked by National Park staff.

The competition closes at midday on Friday 30 September. To enter, download the template on the Family Trees section of the website. Entries can be scanned and emailed to trees@newforestnpa.gov.uk or sent by post to The Tree Team, New Forest National Park Authority, Lymington Town Hall, Avenue Road, Lymington, SO41 9ZG. The winner must be available on Saturday 3 December and will have the honour of planting the first tree at the grand opening of the event.

The Family Trees project is supported by Ashurst and Colbury Parish Council and Tesco’s Bags of Help scheme.

To reserve your place for free, visit www.newforestnpa.gov.uk/familytrees.