There is an area along the riverside owned by the Environment Agency. In 2023, a group of volunteers led by Tony Cook from PECT (Peterborough Environment City Trust) planted around 700 trees to create a “mini-forest”. The concept is that when they are planted close together, they will grow faster and are more likely to establish successfully.
Because of the close proximity of the trees to each other, there isn’t room to mow between the young plants, and over 2024, the mini-forest had almost entirely disappeared under nettles, leaving the poor plants deprived of the much needed air and sunlight to thrive.
Councillor Richard Milligan donned lots of protective gear and set about clearing the nettles entirely by hand. Seven very sweaty hours later, and it was cleared. Huge thanks to Richard for his tireless work making Deeping Gate a greener place to live.
