THE historic planting of the first of 213,000 trees destined to create a huge new area of woodland, wetland and meadows in north Essex took place on Saturday.

THE historic planting of the first of 213,000 trees destined to create a huge new area of woodland, wetland and meadows in north Essex took place on Saturday.

And to mark the event a well-known East Anglian writer dedicated an area of the 505-acre site to a woman who was murdered in Bovaria.

Ronald Blythe, patron of the Woodland Trust's Fordham Hall Estate project and author of “Akenfield”, planted the tree to inaugurate an area of the new environment made possible thanks to the generosity of the Jenny Wood Environmental Trust.

The trust was set up to celebrate the life of Ms Wood, who was murdered while walking in Bavaria a week before her 27th birthday.

Ms Wood, from London, cared deeply for the environment, so to honour her life her friends and family set up the Trust, which over the last 15 years has supported over 70 projects throughout the country.

The Trust's remaining funds are now being given to the Woodland Trust, the UK's leading conservation charity to create a lasting memorial to Ms Wood within its 505-acre habitat creation at Fordham.

The donation, totalling more than £17,000 from the Environmental Trust, will be used to create and care for a seven acre new mixed native woodland, which will be known as Jenny's Wood.

As the woodland develops it will provide a place of memory and quiet contemplation, and a permanent living memorial to Ms Wood's life and work.

A bench bearing an inscription in memory of Jenny will be installed in a corner of the woodland with views out over Fordham Hall Estate towards the river Colne and Colchester.

Jenny's Wood will form part of Fordham Hall Estate, a massive new habitat creation on which the Woodland Trust will be establishing woodland, wetland and open spaces to provide a range of different habitats to host Essex's declining wildlife.

It is hoped that endangered species such as the otter, water vole, grey partridge, barn owl and skylark will be helped through the project.

The site will be freely open to the public and the EADT is supporting the Trust's campaign to raise the remaining £75,000 needed to fund the work planned there.

Christine Punter, Regional Development Officer at the Woodland Trust, said “We are very grateful to the Jenny Wood Environmental Trust for their fantastic support and everyone at the Woodland Trust sincerely hopes that the new wood will provide a special place to honour Jenny's life.”

If anyone would like to discuss supporting this project through a scheme similar to Jenny's Wood or with a general donation, please ring Liz McLelland, of the Woodland Trust, on 01476 581142.