Sidmouth Arboretum has kick started the tree planting season  with two standard trees on Long Park, an area which lost several large Ash trees recently through ash dieback disease.

The first was an English Oak replacing the Jubilee commemoration tree that succumbed to last summer's extreme weather.  EDDC planted 70 English Oaks around the district to commemorate the late Queen's Platinum Jubilee but several were beaten by the exceptionally hot and dry summer.  The District Council has not been able to replace the lost trees and so Sidmouth Arboretum decided to provide a new tree for Long Park.  The Arboretum's tree planting fund is sponsored by generous voluntary donations.

The second tree was a Wild Service Tree sponsored by friends and family of John Barratt who used to run The Anchor Inn in the 1980s. The Wild Service Tree was chosen as its fruits, called chequers and the inspiration for the Prime Minister's country residence, were used to flavour some beers.  Once common, Wild Service Trees are now quite rare in the 'wild' and are an indicator species for ancient woodland sites.

Sidmouth Arboretum continues with its challenge from Sidmouth Town Council to plant 14,000 young woody plants around the valley.  The 2022-23 planting season saw more than five thousand in the ground.  There are plans for another three thousand whips to be planted as wildlife corridor hedgerows starting in December.