Help build the path and give a tree a home

You may have noticed it’s getting a little bit wet outside. You might also have noticed that some of the saplings in the tree nursery look like they’re ready to move to good homes. We wanted to get you to mark two dates in your diaries:

November 4, 12 noon: The annual path laying work begins.

November 11, 11am -1pm: The great tree giveaway.

Adopt a tree from Wray Crescent

In April 2021 The Friends of Wray Crescent developed Islington’s first Tree Nursery Project.

The project was developed to support Islington’s Vision 2030 Net Zero Strategy and Biodiversity Action Plan, by maximising tree cover and encouraging local biodiversity.

The ambition of the project has always been to share these trees with community groups right across the borough. 

Establishing a tree nursery within our park has been a real success and raised lots of interest from visitors to the park. 

What sort of trees and where are they from?

We sourced 100 native tree saplings from The Woodland Trust, including Hazel, Rowan, Crab Apple and Dog Rose. We also sourced local LIF funding to build the fencing for the project.

We are delighted to mark the end of Round 1 of this project by holding our ‘Tree Give-Away Day’ to see them move to permanent residence elsewhere in the borough. Basic care and maintenance instructions will be provided on the day.

What happens next?

The next step will see us plant more saplings in spring 2024 to continue the project. We will this season also be accepting a small number of home-grown oak trees generously donated by local residents.

Please join us at Wray Crescent Open Space, N4, on November 11 from 11am to pick up a tree and give it a home to grow in.

Please help build the path

Every year since 2019 we’ve built the path through the muddy section of the park. It’s the wood-chip path we known hundreds of people use every week, and we need your help getting it ready for winter again this year.

Why it matters

In the days before we began building the path that part of the park was never used in winter — it basically becomes a bog. Laying down the path makes for a great way to get around, and means people make much more use of the precious green space.

What you can do

We’re asking everyone who can take a turn on the shovel or push a wheelbarrow around to show up at noon on Saturday November 4 to begin this work. Even better, if you have your own wheelbarrow and/or shovel you can bring along, we’ll get the work done faster.

(Subject to the weather – we will work in light rain, but not a flood – and we’ll be doing this every weekend until the path is complete.)

Please turn up and help us once again plot the path through the park! And please share this news with your friends and other networks!

(And if you can’t turn up, feel free to make a small contribution to maintain our work).