Our Community Engagement Officer Jo was out and about earlier this month, delivering a guided tree walk at Foster Hill Road Cemetery in Bedford.

The walk - part of the programme for the Bedfordshire Walking Festival, and Heritage Week - was organised by Friends of the Foster Hill Road Cemetery.

Jo looked at the religious and historical significance of tree species like the cedar of Lebanon and London plane at the Foster Hill Road entrance to the Cemetery, as well as talking about other non-native species that line their circular walking routes like the Indian bean tree, Italian alder, giant sequoia and ponderosa pine. She also talked about the importance of native species like wild cherry, oak, hawthorn and birch - all of which are common sights across the country, and planted here in the Forest of Marston Vale.

Jo has an excellent knowledge and way of presentation, and answered questions galore; several visitors were keenly writing notes. We learnt that you should NEVER park your car under a Lime tree, the kinds of fruit that you can eat but wouldn’t really want to try twice, and the clever way that trees communicate and help to protect each other.

- Adrian Bean, the Friends of Foster Hill Road Cemetery

65 people attended the walk - a record number for the group! - and a few new faces even came along for their first visit.

We've been working with the group at Foster Hill Road Cemetery for a few years, and look forward to returning again in 2022 as part of their programme of natural history walks and talks.

If you'd like to find out more about the Cemetery and the Friends of Foster Hill Road Cemetery group you can visit their website.

All images kindly provided by Colin Woolfe of the Friends of Foster Hill Road Cemetery.

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Would your community group like to learn more about trees?

We can offer a range of different walks, talks and activities for community groups looking to find out more about the wonderful world of trees and how they make life better - get in touch and contact Jo via email to find out more.