The Hinxton project team took on the mammoth challenge of translocating over 900 trees at the start of the year. The trees, thinned out from an existing woodland plantation will create a new woodland belt designed to serve as a visual screen of the Campus expansion works for residents living in Hinxton Village.
The trees required removal as part of future thinning management works but this approach has not only saved them but also enabled early delivery of the new woodland area. The transplanted trees will be supplemented by over 1,150 younger trees which will complete the woodland.
Ruskins, the landscapers appointed for these works have taken a sustainable approach to getting the ground ready for the new trees using compost tea - a highly concentrated solution with a wide variety of beneficial soil microorganisms which improve soil structure, water percolation and nutrient uptake – creating healthy roots in healthy soil so the trees establish more quickly.
Surrounding these areas will feature new meadows with added sustainable drainage basins, which will capture rainwater and gradually release it back into the watercourse.
We know that protecting views from homes that overlook the expansion area has been important to local residents and I am so pleased we have been able to bring forward this work. Not only does this approach create instant impact in shielding the views, but through this approach we have both saved trees that otherwise would have been lost and in planting them alongside younger trees we will be creating attractive and evolving natural woodland.
Caroline Foster, Development Director
