Tree planting by Green Party at Museum of East Anglian Life in Stowmarket

Volunteers spent the morning planting trees at the Museum of East Anglian Life. (Image: Archant)

It followed on from work to plant a large hedge at the museum around seven years ago, with some of the trees needing replacing. The group were also required to remove any ash trees planted in the hedge amid national concerns that they may be diseased. Planted in their place were trees which are native to Suffolk.

Seven members of the Green Party, including John Matthissen, Helen Geake and Miles Row and their families, got involved in the tree planting on Sunday. Mr Matthissen said: “There were two reasons for going back.

“One, ash trees are in all sorts of trouble with this disease and some of the ash that were in the hedge were dying.

“There’s a general recommendation to get rid of it and just leave the bigger, older ash trees. We were doing that and filling in any gaps in the original hedge.

Volunteers spent the morning planting trees at the Museum of East Anglian Life. (Image: Archant)

“We also planted a new native species hedge to shield the pigs from the wind and so forth.”

Each newly-planted tree was also fitted with a support and a guard to protect it from grazing wildlife.