September issue - Magazine - Page 63
Glenside
News
GlensideNews@mail.com
COMMUNITY
Clipsham Yew Tree Avenue: A Cut Above!
To all our Glenside readers, you may remember back in
December 2024, the Clipsham Yew Tree Avenue Trust
(CYTAT) got some fantastic news: a huge £114,600 from
the National Heritage Lottery Fund! This amazing award
means we can keep the Avenue looking spectacular for the
next five years and beyond.
With this long-term security, we've had a chance to
really think about how we can best care for this very
special place. Earlier this year, we started chatting with
specialist topiarists – basically, experts in shaping trees –
to get their advice on restoring those 'yew-nique' designs
and keeping the trees super healthy. For the big jobs we
rely on our brilliant professional arboriculturalist (big
shout out to Euan McLaren!) with his cherry pickers and
mechanical hedge cutters, but we've always wanted to get
more local people involved in the hands-on care of these
magnificent trees. And guess what? We did it!
On Saturday September 20th, we held two topiary
training workshops at the Avenue and they were a huge
success! Twenty-five enthusiastic people came from
Clipsham, Castle Bytham and further afield. Our expert
tutors, Darren Lerigo from Modern Mint and Chris Poole
(the former Chairman of the European Boxwood and
Topiary Society) were absolutely brilliant. We got to see
some seriously high-quality shears and secateurs and,
Above and right: the two groups of
topiary students and their teachers
(kneeling at the front). Above, far right:
evening up the millennium design.
Below: The Lottery Heritage Fund logo
design in progress.
even better, we learned how to clean and sharpen our own
tools properly. That was a real eye-opener for many of us!
Darren and Chris then led us to the yew trees to share
their top topiary techniques and tips. Before we knew it,
we were each assigned a tree and got to work clipping
away! We now have many more local people with the
skills and knowledge to help secure even greater
community involvement with the Avenue.
We were also delighted to have Graham Hackett, our
National Lottery External Evaluator, join us for the day. He
chatted with the tutors and participants as he'll be writing a
report on the event – all part of our funding agreement.
As an extra treat, on the Friday before the workshops,
Darren and Chris also got creative, crafting some new
designs – including the National Lottery Heritage Fund
logo – and helping to refresh existing designs so they're
even clearer and more defined for visitors to enjoy.
So, all in all, it was a wonderful weekend for
Clipsham Yew Tree Avenue and our thanks to all those
who gave their time and support to what is a real natural
treasure and benefit to the Glenside area.
If you want to know more, or want to get involved
or add your name to future Topiary Training workshops,
please contact info@yewtreeavenue.co.uk
Patrick Candler, Yew Tree Avenue Trustee
