one hundred trees
how small this blister
on my  thumb
Paul Conneally – Fruit Routes poet

A fantastic weekend of digging, laughing, muddy boots and warming soup. The trees were successfully planted by bands of volunteers ranging from age 4 upwards: members of the local community, some of whose houses back on to the uni, others from across town; students; postgrads and artists who don’t mind getting mucky. All in all we got the 76 trees, 25 fruit bushes and 285 hedgerow whips in the ground. Each planter was given a thank-you pack including a limited edition screenprint of a bare root tree, and a slice of the branch of rowan tree.

At 3pm on Sunday we officially celebrated the trees and welcomed them to the campus with a walk around the route and a series of poetry, music and dance performances.

This included live trumpet played by musician David Blayze, dancer Miriam Keye, a morris dance called ‘twig’ which relates the story of planting and digging trees and a poem by Paul Conneally created from words and fragments gleaned during Saturday’s planting.  As we ended our journey with the setting sun, the trees were blessed and the elements honoured with a healthy sprinkling of a local cider. The merry band then proceeded to the LAGS (Landscaping and Gardening Society) Garden and Shed to a roaring fire and barbeque, cider, fruit wine and apple juice.