Aspen 3 years on
I chose to plant Quaking Aspen inspired by a visit to Carrifran Wildwood in the Scottish Borders where they have planted aspen lower down the valley and were delighted when I visited in 2019 by their growth and the experience of the quaking leaves and the sound they made. I had not realised they are a native species. I then came across BOOM (Back on our Map) a project run by Cumbria University seeking to restore species that have been lost or are under threat in Cumbria. Aspen were one of their chosen species. 'The BOOM project aims to increase the connectivity of aspen in South Cumbria. We will take hard-root cuttings from aspen across the project area, and work with community stakeholder organisations such as Green Heart Den and Art Gene to propagate the cuttings, with the aim to generate a clone bank of local south Cumbrian aspen clones.' I approached the University and they donated 100 saplings from Cumbria. Some were collected whips from established trees and othe...