In July 2020, Penny and her younger son visited West Berkshire Councillor Steve Masters who had joined the tree protectors at Jones Hill Wood in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty , which was under threat from HS2.
“We camped the night and got to appreciate the woods which had inspired Roald Dahl to write Fantastic Mr Fox, ” Penny explained. “It became clear to us that even if the woods sadly couldn’t be saved, there were hundreds of saplings that could, if they were rescued and rehomed. So we returned a week later with spades and dug up over two hundred oak, ash, holly, cherry and maple saplings and put the word out in the local area that we had saplings looking for new homes – refutrees, in other words.”
One of the local residents who offered to re-home some saplings was Jo Harbinson from Lambourn. who has worked at Sheepdrove Organic Farm and now lives at the over 55s development at St Michael’s Close and is very concerned about climate change and loss of biodiversity. Jo took six small cherry saplings which were ceremonially planted (see photos below) on Thursday 1 October 2020 along the fence on the corner of Baydon Road and Parsonage Lane, so, the trees can be enjoyed by the residents but also be enjoyed from the road.
April 2025 update
Latest report from Jo: “Some of the tiny cherry saplings we planted during lockdown are now over 5 foot tall. And the daffodils that were planted underneath them at the same time have been putting on a nice display.”
April 2024 update
“We thought you would be interested in an update on the cherry saplings you rescued from the jaws of the HS2 bulldozers,” Jo told us.
“They are growing in all shapes and sizes – we like to think they have their own personalities! So, we’re pleased to report they are all alive & well and starting to reward us with some blossom.
“They can be viewed along the railings on corner of Parsonage Lane and Baydon Road in Lambourn.
“We’ll take more pictures as they all come into bloom.”
April 2021 Update
Jo reports that the cherry tree saplings have all survived the winter & are starting to sprout, “although they’re still very small so don’t think we’ll get any flowers this year.
“We planted daffodil bulbs around them so this will be a lovely display for all to enjoy in years to come.
“And all thanks to you for rescuing them from the path of the bulldozers otherwise they’d have been destroyed and lost forever.
“We also had a couple of holly bushes which have been planted in a different part of the grounds and these too are doing well.”
October 2020
Ceremonial planting of the small cherry refutrees during the pandemic.
