Katie
Progress so far
What an amazing month it has been so far. We have collected acorns from ancient trees across North Yorkshire; in early morning mist amongst 1000 year old oaks at Ripley Castle, warm October sunshine at Newby Hall, in the rain at Fountains Abbey, in the semi-dark at Hookstone and with a whole host of different groups, all becoming instantly interested in acorns;
"These ones are stripey!"
"These ones are tiny!"
"These ones have little spots on them!"
The beavers zipped round the woods, excitedly discovering 'acorn-topia' (a particularly laden tree). Our own volunteers discovered acorn-fever and several became squirrels (taking some home with them to grow on). We've had volunteers from Belzona, Neom, Hasag, The National Trust, Forest Church, Longlands Common, Zero Carbon Harrogate, and we've had some people join us having just walked past us on their dog walk!
We've spent a morning live on air with BBC Radio York and we are about to talk about acorns on Radio 5 Live!
In 2 weeks, so far we've worked with 97 people, collected 150kgs and ran 7 acorn collecting events!
A huge thanks to all the different partners and landowners who have supported us with the project, including the White Rose Forest, Harrogate Borough Council, The Woodland Trust, The National Trust, Sir Thomas Ingleby of Ripley Castle, Ian Fraser of Longlands Common, Leeds Arium, Belzona and all the volunteers who have supported us to collect.
We are looking forward to seeing the saplings as they grow, and will keep you updated!
