Welcome faithful followers to our regular monthly update for the goings on here at the Tree Life Centre just outside of Bristol! You currently join us during our festive break, the update will be shorter than usual as we have been closed since the 18th. With the recent weather leaving the site rather soggy, the trees stripped bare and with some storm damage it may have been a blessing in disguise that we are closed! Our first week back, Monday 6th January, will be full of mopping up and repairing the damage alongside our usual activities. Lets hope the weather over the course of the remaining break will be much kinder! Anyway, let me fill you in on how we spent the last month of 2013…
The main portion of our time was spent getting ready for the two festive events we were either supplying our wears for, or having our own stall. This included making many for of our famous rustic Rudolph’s and various other things such as bird feeders and candle holders. Our Bristol office had a stall at the annual Create Centre Festive Fair and we had a stall at the annual Carols in the Barn service at our home of Grimsbury Farm. At both events we also had many of our lovely trees, including fruit trees, so if you saw something you liked but couldn’t fit it in your car etc. then please do pay us a visit/contact us as we have many more trees on offer. Also, a huge thank you to everyone who paid a visit to the stalls and we look forward to seeing you again soon.
We also had a couple of large orders for bare rooted trees, both from within TCV. First off we supplied lots of native species for our Bristol office as part of the Western Power partnership, then we had a large fruit tree order for our Gloucester office to be planted around their various projects. Don’t forget, if you want any bare rooted native species then you can order them for us! Not only are you helping the native environment but you are also supporting a great charity.
Our diploma guys have been taking advantge of the cabin and hiding away from the worst of the weather to crack on with their core theory parts. However, when the sun did come out the much needed mulching was done (which also covers some practical segments!). The courses are run all year on a rolling basis so you can start whenever you want, so why not try something new in 2014 and have a go at our Work-based Horticulture diplomas! Contact us for more information.
Finally, on our last Monday before Christmas we had a party for all the volunteers. Fortunately the weather was fairly kind to us and many volunteers attended, having a good time.
Everyone here hopes you had an excellent Christmas and we wish you all a Happy New Year. We look forward to seeing you in 2014!
Parish Notices:-
We are back open as usual Monday 6th January. If you are interested in volunteering then either pop down and we can show you around or contact our Project Officer to arrange a time to visit.
Don’t forget you can follow us on Facebook and Twitter for more up-to-date news.