175 native trees have been planted close to Querns Wood and Cirencester Hospital by employees of Moore Allen & Innocent in an area previously covered in brambles. The trees (including oak, field maple, hornbeam and hazel) were planted on a steep bank that acts as a sound barrier between the A429 and the hospital.

The Cirencester firm had planned to celebrate their 175th anniversary in 2020 by planting 175 trees in local woodland, but due to pandemic restrictions, the project eventually took place between November 2021 and February 2022.

Moore Allen & Innocent’s website reports that “the hazel and field maple will reach maturity fairly quickly. The hornbeam should be fully grown by the time the firm reaches its bicentenary in 2045, and the oaks will mature in around 50 years.”

A huge thank you from all of us at AQIVA to the volunteers. We look forward to watching these trees grow and to the arrival of a commemorative bench to the site.

Read the full story in the Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard.