Articles About Oaklore
For more information, please call 01206 326943 or email alison.gray@btinternet.com
David & Alison Gray's passion for trees has blossomed into an allconsuming hobby.
While David works full-time as a Landscape Gardener and Alison has a busy life looking after their home and four school age children, the couple also run a not-for-proft company called Oaklore.
It's aim is merely to plant trees and encourage wildlife, with all income - mainly from sponorship - going into the "pot" for new land purchases.
The company was launched two years ago with the purchase of the first piece of land, at Ardleigh- now planted with 3,000 native British trees, some of which have been grown from acorns by school pupils.
Now with the second site, at Assington, planted with a further 2,000 trees the couple, who are both in their 40's and live in East Bergholt, are looking to buy a third piece of land for the same purpose. "I've always been into trees since I was young," sais David whose big chance to make a difference in terms of creating a greener environment came in a Dragon's Den style conversation with a man for whom he had worked for as a Landscape Gardener. "He asked me what I would do if I had some money," and I said, " I would plant lots of trees." He suggested I came back to him with some definite proposals and that was it. He ultimately provided the money to purchase the land in Ardleigh.
The initial purchase was followed by the involvement of East Bergholt Primary School in setting up a tree nursery to grow oak trees from acorns collected by the children. Some of the pupils, together with youngsters from Ardleigh Primary School, took part in the first planting.
Income for Oaklore comes mainly from sponsorship of single trees and blocks of trees by individuals and families and from companies wanting to help compensate for carbon emissions in the workplace.
"We've had people sponsoring trees for all kinds of reasons - in memory of loved ones, including pets, or to celebrate special days in their lives, marriages or the birth of a child. We also have people wanting to scatter the ashes of loved ones around a tree they can visit. One man wanted to sponsor a tree in memory of a much loved car. It had apparently failed the MoT and had had to be scrapped. We also planted a tree donated by a man who had just gone through a divorce. He had grown a tree in a pot to mark the birth of his daughter. But following the divorce he could no longer see his daughter and wanted to plant her tree where it would prosper and he could visit it."
Sponsorship of trees at Ardleigh led to the purchase of a further three acres of land, the site of a commercial apple orchard at Assington. It back onto Assington Thicks, the largest existing woodland in the area. The orchard trees have been thinned out to make way for the woodland planting and David and Alison, whose children are Phoebe 14, twins Kofi and Dylan 7 and Zac 5, have found that the strongest growth has come from saplings planted in the vicinity of apple trees."They must have given them the shelter they needed at the right time." said David.
Now he and his wife are looking for a third site, perhaps in Norfolk. "Eventually we would like to have woodlands all over East Anglia and in other parts of the eastern counties," he said.
People turn up at the couple's home with trees they have grown from seedlings - donating them for planting in the new woodlands.
Alison said, "Only trees native to Britain were planted, as far as possible from locally sourced acorns and other seeds. These have the best chance of doing well in local conditions - we don't use imported trees. she said. She added, " We strongly believe that we do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors, but borrow it from our children." "In the next ten years Oaklores targets are to continue improving our environment, by purchasing more land and creating new wwodlands. We have no limits, just high hopes."
Public access to the Ardleigh woodland is only with permission. The Assington woodland has open access.
East Anglian Daily Times. Saturday, September 24 2011. Article by David Green.
A Suffolk couple have launched a project aimed at putting the oak back into the Suffolk-Essex border area. Alison and David Gray who live in East Bergholt with their four children have already accumulated acorns, courtesy of collections by the local primary schools, friends and local residents. David and his wife have called the project Oaklore and it is aimed at producing woodlands of local oaks, not strains of the species brought in from Scotland or elsewhere in Europe. "This will ensure that the new woodland attracts a diverse ecosystem of insects and other wildilfe that are native to this area. Imported oaks often fail to support the range of insects required to attract birds and other animals."
An established client of Mr David Gray's landscaping business - Ash Landscapes, funded the first of what is planned to be a network of woodlands along the Suffolk-Essex border.
David has estimated that each acre of land will be able to support 400/500 young oaks. After several years they would be thinned out and underplanted with other, smaller, species to create a diverse broad-leaved woodland. The surplus young trees will be sold off to other forest-planting ventures, and local councils and nurseries, with any profits being used to maintain the remaining woodland and overtime, to purchase new land to plant as woodland. Once the initial land is secured, local business will be approached to offset their own carbon emissions by supporting the maintenance of the new woodland and to acquire new land. The objective over the next 10 years is to reach the size where we can acquire substantial plots of land, eventually joining the sites together to provide a new belt of woodland running across East Anglia.
Anyone with a suitable area of land to sell is asked to contact us on 01206 326943 or email
An eco-friendly project has been launched by a man from East Bergholt to put extensive oak woodland back into the region.
David Gray, a landscape gardener, has been collecting acorns with a plan to plant them.
The 46-year old said: " The aim of it is to start putting part of the country back to what it was like many years ago, before everybody started filling it up with buildings. They are destroying total areas, and the idea was to figure out a way we could fight back".
The project has been initially funded by a local businessman. The project is called Oaklore, and is designed to start producing woodlands of local oaks, instead of strains brought in from Scotland or elsewhere in Europe.
Mr Gray said: " This ensures the new woodland attracts a diverse eco-system of native insects and wildlife, as imported oaks fail to support the range of insects that are required to attract birds and other animals."
The extra young trees would be sold off to local councils and nurseries. Any profits from this would be used to maintain the remaining woodland and, over time, purchase new land to plant as woodland.
The overall objective over the coming years, is to reach the size where Oaklore can acquire substantial plots of land, eventually joining the sites together to provide a new belt of woodland running across East Anglia.
Harwich & Manningtree Standard.
Oaklore
Every day we have seen companies announcing commitments to carbon neutral, but most of the time all this means is investment in projects in other countries, with minimal impact on the local environment. Oaklore is a new venture based in East Bergholt, with the aim of planting new deciduous English Woodland across Essex & Suffolk, which when established would be opened for the benefit of the public and wildlife. By focusing on our immediate surrounding and by growing new oak trees from acorns collected from trees in the area, rather than importing oaks, Oaklore ensures that the ecosystem of the new woodland will encourage our natural hertiage.
Article from East Bergholt parish magazine May 2008.
Woodland sponsors wanted.
Sponsors are being sought to help create the biggest woodland in East Anglia.
Oaklore, which was set up by David & Alison Gray of East Bergholt, is encouraging people to sponsor a tree for £10 at their site off Mill Lane, Ardleigh.
The idea of the project is that pieces of land will be bought one at a time and trees will be planted on them to create a woodland. Schoolchildren have also helped out by planting trees at the site in December.
They had been encouraged to bring in acorns that could be germinated ready for planting.
Mrs Gray said: " They can adopt a tree, it will cost £10 and for that they get a certificate, and if they want to address their families' carbon emissions, such as trips to school, or want to give an environmentally friendly gift, or want to commemorate a loved one, or want to do something positive for the environment, they can do that by sponsoring a tree with Oaklore."
Article from The Standard, Friday, January 16 2009.
The first seeds of a dream to create the biggest woodland in East Anglia have been planted. Children from St Mary's Primary School, Ardleigh, and East Bergholt Primary School helped to plant trees on a parcel of land off Mill Lane, in Ardleigh.
Lee Abbott, Headteacher of East Bergholt Primary School, said the children had been involved with the project since last year when they were all asked to bring in acorns, which could be germinated ready for planting. We had nine pupils along and helped with the planting, they did very well. A total of 224 trees were planted in just over an hour, by both schools and none of them needed to be replanted. We have been backing this project as it is aimed at offsetting our carbon emissions, you only have to be outside our school in the morning to realise the amount of traffic on the roads.
He added that helping with the planting fitted into the school's initiative for outdoor learning, which the childredn "really enjoy".
Donne Parker, Headteacher of St Mary's Primary School, said " The children loved doing the planting, they got very muddy. It's great for them to get outside and it will be nice for them to look at the trees they planted when they are bigger."
David and Alison Gray launched the project last year, Mrs Gray said, " The children were absolutely fantastic, the engery and spirit was brilliant! It was amazing, a great kickstart to the project. We want to get more schools involved and have more planting days."
Article from The Standard - Friday December 5 2008.
Green goal ahead.
An Ipswich based call centre has moved closer to its aim of becoming carbon neutral.
Call Connection has purchased trees from East Bergholt based Oaklore Limited, a firm which creates carbon offsetting woodland, after planting 500 trees at Gippeswyck Park in Chantry in conjunction with Ipswich Borough Council and Otley College. After the firm was told it needed to plant 840 trees to reach its carbon neutral goal, it bought the remaining amount from Oaklore.
Article from East Anglian Daily Times - Friday August 21 2009