Local residents, firefighters, Oxford City Council’s Tree Team and volunteers have joined forces to protect a much-loved community wood in Marston after a fire broke out during the height of this summer’s drought.
On 23 July, residents spotted smoke and flames coming from the young trees at Croft Road Recreation Ground and quickly contacted Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service. Firefighters and the Oxford City Parks team were soon on the scene to put out the blaze safely and stop it spreading further.
The Community Wood consists native trees, planted in 2019 by volunteers from Marston Community Growing and Oxford Friends of the Earth. The saplings were obviously very dry and the grass around them was like straw, so the risk of a large forest fire was high. Around 30 trees were damaged, and volunteers hope that at least half will survive.
Local volunteers from Marston Community Growing were soon on the scene to assess the damage. One volunteer said: “The ground around the trees looked badly scorched and some of the trees looked very sad. But it’s amazing how well some of the trees have survived. They are more resilient than you would think and although they appear badly damaged, the older the tree, the thicker the bark, and although there might be some superficial leaf damage, the roots usually survive. With some care and good watering from our local people, we hope new shoots will appear”.
Local volunteers worked with Ed Whorwoodfrom Oxford Direct Services (ODS) Tree Team to arrange for the ODS water bowser to arrive at the site to water the damaged trees with approximately 400 litres of water. The volunteers also used their own watering cans to drench the roots of the damaged trees as much as possible. The Tree Team also helped with further protective action by adding a layer of mulch around the trees and carrying out additional watering.
Alistair Morris, Tree Lead for Marston Community Growing said: “We are so relieved that the damage wasn’t any worse. These trees are precious for so many reasons: cooling our city, flood mitigation and increasing biodiversity in Marston. It would have been a nightmare if the fire had swept through further. I know that our local volunteers will keep an eye on the trees and help to mulch and replace any dead trees this autumn.”
Green Party City Councillor, Kate Robinson, said: “Croft Road Community Wood is greatly loved by the people of New Marston. Hundreds of our neighbours came along to plant the tiny saplings seven years ago, and we enjoy watching them grow as more wildlife appears around this nature area, so we are hugely grateful to everyone involved in saving it.
“I think this incident sends two clear messages: that climate change is ramping up and our planet - including people and trees -is starting to suffer; and that our local communities are caring, dedicated and skilled at solving these problems. If we can all work together at county, city and local level like this, then we are far more powerful and resilient than we think.”
