An age-old natural protector of people is getting renewed protection in Denbighshire.
Staff at Denbighshire County Council’s Tree Nursery at Green Gates Nature Reserve are working to boost the number of rowan in the county thanks to help from a old tree watching over Llangollen.
The Council’s tree nursery is funded by the Welsh Government, through the Local Nature Partnerships Cymru project and Local Places for Nature grant.
Nursery staff and volunteers are working to boost species numbers of trees including black poplar, wild service tree and oaks by sourcing seeds from the local area and growing them on.
Staff recently visited Dinas Bran at Llangollen, to collected berries from a mature rowan tree located in the area above the town.
Over 1.5kg of berries are being processed to help secure viable rowan seeds for planting at the nursery. This process includes mashing the berries in water and rinsing them in a sieve to remove the flesh and gain access to the seeds.
Rowans are usual found on mountains and heathland and is also known as ‘mountain ash.’ In the past it was long associated with folklores and the tree wood was often placed on doors by people to ward off ‘evil spirits’ and protect their homes.
The tree in Celtic lore was also known as the ‘traveller’s tree’ due because it was thought by carrying a sprig of rowan it would prevent and protect people from getting lost while travelling.
Spring flowers on the tree are a favourite source of food for bees, butterflies and moths and berries in the autumn can attract visiting waxwings, redwings and other thrushes.
Keegan Blazey, Tree Nursery Officer said:
“Rowan has had an exceptional year in berry production which may be due to the high temperatures faced during the summer. We have also seen that oak production of seeds is very low due to the tree’s natural cycle of masting to confuse predators and keep populations in check. This boom in rowan berries will help us fill the gap in producing locally sourced trees to benefit our surrounding biodiversity.”
Councillor James Elson, Lead Member for the Environment and Transport, said:
“Local provenance is key to what our staff and volunteers do at the tree nursery, so its great to be able to continue the lineage of this mature rowan overlooking Llangollen across our county in the future.
“By nurturing and growing these rowan at the nursery before planting, the team will help improve their survival rates while supporting a native tree species that offers real value for biodiversity, from bees and other pollinators to moths, birds and many other species.”
