The Big Green Internet project

TBGI is planting half a million hedgerow whips and 100 miles of wildlife corridors to connect our isolated & fragmented woods in Essex [email protected]

[The Big Green Internet project @TBGItrees]

Here's the YouTube link to the ITV News broadcast

https://t.co/qIBXU8Sj6T

[The Big Green Internet project @TBGItrees]

Year 2 Report 60. Last week we were planting on Mersea Island. Beautiful views across the Pyefleet Channel towards Colchester. Just visible are some tree planters.

[The Big Green Internet project @TBGItrees]

Year 2 Report 59 A nice pic showing how the Ezee Tree 'pulp' tree guards come flat-packed.

[The Big Green Internet project @TBGItrees]

Year 2. Report 58. Trying a couple of new organic biodegradable tree guards. 'Pulp' guards (stackable) from Ezee Trees and starch derived lactic acid polymer guards from Rainbow Treebio.

[The Big Green Internet project @TBGItrees]

Year 2 Report 57. Apologies for the 'radio silence' - we've been busy planting. Will pass 33,000 trees planted by mid-morning today. You can tell we've moved to Mersea Island by the road signs !!

[The Big Green Internet project @TBGItrees]

Year 2. Report 56. Have recently been busy planting some hedgerows/wildlife corridors in the Wrabness area, overlooking the beautiful river stour estuary. Some lovely weather too - enough to pick up a tan last Friday.

[The Big Green Internet project @TBGItrees]

Year 2 Report 55. Today we made our own version of 'eggnog' - raw eggs, garlic in olive oil and vinegar. We are sure that the deer are attracted to the glue in the tree guards and we hope this repellant is our answer. Anyone else had experience of deer damaging tree guards?

[The Big Green Internet project @TBGItrees]

Year 2 Report 54. Lovely sunny freezing morning - but ground too frosted to plant. Waited an hour and OK to start. Another 596 hedgerow whips in the ground today.

[The Big Green Internet project @TBGItrees]

@SuffolkTrees @HavantTree Cardboard - rebranded as organic biodegradable !!

[The Big Green Internet project @TBGItrees]

Year 2 Report 51 (11,833 whips planted so far). More deer damage to the tree guards - the footprints give the culprits away !!

[The Big Green Internet project @TBGItrees]

Year 2 Report 53. A warm welcome to some volunteers and visitors from Essex Wildlife Trust HQ. A wonderful mild sunny day in the middle of January!! Nice to see one of our hedgerows snaking off into the distance.

[The Big Green Internet project @TBGItrees]

Year 2. Report 52. To combat deer damage to our new organic biodegradable tree guards we may need to spray them with a repellant. When I lived in France we had to spray our cars with a pine marten repellant because they loved to eat rubber, especially windscreen wipers !!

[The Big Green Internet project @TBGItrees]

Year 2. Report 50. A selection of shredded and damaged tree guards that were strewn around !! Installed just 2 weeks ago?? There's only one place I've seen this - and it's within a few meters of the badger sett. Can we draw conclusions?

[The Big Green Internet project @TBGItrees]

Year 2. Report 49. Greetings to our new brush cutter. Sometimes we need to clear away vegetation from a planting site, so rather than using chemicals we're going physical. It is petrol driven, which isn't so good, but to be honest, we've tried hand tools, but it doesn't work.

[The Big Green Internet project @TBGItrees]

Year 2. Report 48. I'm not sure I want to see this !! Hawthorn whips budding with green leaves !! They only shed their leaves 6 weeks ago and that was forced on by harvest. What's going on?

[The Big Green Internet project @TBGItrees]

Year 2 Report 47 Dramatic cloud formation Looks like it's emanating from the trees.

[The Big Green Internet project @TBGItrees]

Year 2 Report 46. Interesting to see that the deer (probably muntjac) have been nibbling our organic biodegradable tree guards !!

[The Big Green Internet project @TBGItrees]

Year 2 Report 45. A very heavy ground frost overnight meant we could not plant. 5mm of ice on the puddles. Can just see a new hedgerow going in.

[The Big Green Internet project @TBGItrees]

Year 2 Report 44 Here's our extended planting crew - in a festive mood.

[The Big Green Internet project @TBGItrees]

Year 2 Day 43. We planted in this waterlogged corner - just to see if it gave an accelerated weathering of the organic biodegradable tree guards.

[The Big Green Internet project @TBGItrees]

Year 2 Day 42. As we worked in one corner of the farm we found this magnificent active badger sett.