The ranger programme in Nottinghamshire was able to take National Tree week ‘on tour’, in partnership with the team at Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, as we took ‘tree themed activities’ to three different hospital settings. Lucy, Senior Nature Recovery Ranger, explains: “National Tree Week gave us a great opportunity to develop our partnership with Sherwood Forest Trust (SFT). Whilst looking for activities to celebrate all things tree, I saw some of the SFT activities on social media, including acorn collecting for a mast year of plentiful acorns around the Sherwood Forest area.
“Having already visited the wonderful Community Tree Nursery overseen by Izzy at SFT, I hoped there may be some way we could connect. I was thrilled when I was offered an abundance of acorns and seed trays to bring over to plant up across the units I am currently supporting.”
So, for National Tree Week 2025, we have sown approximately 250 future oak trees. We have also discussed the stories and heritage of Sherwood Forest.
At Hopewood adolescent unit, also supported by the education team, young people from each ward explored the science and beauty of trees with microscopes, as well as matching twigs to their trees. The young people and staff also wrote their favourite tree themed joke, fact or thought.
We have also taken acorns to the gardening groups at Sherwood Oaks and Highbury adult units, where conversations about favourite woodlands, home gardens and even the science of seeds, all came in abundance! All three units are within the original footprint of Sherwood Forest which reached from North of Mansfield right down into Nottingham city.
The planted acorns will return to the Tree Nursery at Sherwood Forest Trust now, to rest and grow. We hope to bring back a sapling to the units in the next couple of years, where we now know from our research it could live for up to 700 years – or as we calculated – for our great-great-great-great-great-great-great- (+ 15 more greats) grandchildren.