Sidmouth Arboretum will be holding its annual tree week beginning on Monday, May 17 with guided tree walks and talks through the magic of Zoom.
The arboretum volunteers have been making plans for months and hoping that Covid restrictions would allow some live events. This is a wonderful time of year for trees, leaves are unfolding in their freshest greens and many trees are flowering.
Walks: On the Monday, you will have the chance to walk up Bickwell Valley and round to The Knowle accompanied by the Arboretum’s knowledgeable tree enthusiasts. As well as a chance to meet the trees, this walk has the bonus of seeing what is happening with the flood alleviation scheme and performance arena in Knowle park. On the Wednesday, you will be introduced to the trees of the churchyard and Blackmore Gardens. The Friday walk will take a figure of eight path around The Byes. Details of the walks can be found on the Arboretum website news page, https://sidmoutharboretum.org.uk/news_display.php.
Talks: As well as the three walks, there will be two talks, delivered by Zoom so that a large audience can be accommodated. On the Tuesday morning, Debbie Hemmings, a senior scientist at the Met. Office, and Birmingham University, will be talking about ‘Climate Change Links With Biodiversity In The SW UK’. On the Thursday evening, Arboretum tree enthusiast Ed Dolphin will be answering the question ‘How Old Is That Tree?’ Contact the Arboretum via the website or by email on info@sidmoutharboretum.org.uk for more details and the necessary links to the Zoom talks.
The Arboretum team hope that Tree Week will mark another step back into normality and the resumption of many other cultural activities in the town.
Monday, May 17 – 10:30 Guided Walk – Bickwell Valley and The Knowle. Meet at Museum entrance, Church Street
Tuesday, May 18 – 11:00 Café Sci zoom talk by Dr Deborah Hemming, Met Office. ‘Climate change links with biodiversity in SW UK’
Wednesday, May 19 – 10:30 Guided Walk – Blackmore Gardens
Meet at Museum entrance, Church Street
Thursday, May 20 – 7pm Zoom talk by Ed Dolphin: ‘How Old Is That Tree?’
Friday, May 21 – 10:30 Guided Walk - The Byes. Meet at Toll House entrance to The Byes