We had a great day planting Alder with Volvo in December. The cold weather didn't deter this lovely bunch from working hard to create an Alder Carr (dense thicket of trees) in the muddy ground at Carron Pond in Farnham.
Alder create an ideal habitat for mosses, lichens and fungi, plus some species of butterfly and crane fly. Unlike many tree species, alder don’t shade-out plants growing underneath them. They are a great food source for many species of moth caterpillar (who eat its leaves), bees (its catkins provide an early source of pollen and nectar) and birds (who eat its seeds).
These trees were once been common in Farnham and neighbouring Aldershot (‘alder’ being where the town got its name), so planting at Carron Pond offered a unique chance to re-wild the area. In recent years, this important native tree has been affected by ‘Phytophthora alni’, a fungus known to cause one of the most damaging diseases of natural ecosystems in Europe. This alone is a good reason to keep their numbers up where we can.
Well done team! Cleaner air and greater biodiversity, a fantastic way to end the year!
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