Major expansion as family tree branches out from a landmark
IT is a tree that is known around the world as the landmark of Sherwood Forest. But now the Major Oak is branching out.
Saplings grown from acorns produced by the world-famous tree are being offered to communities across Nottingham and Notts.
Two of the saplings grown by the Sherwood Pines Partnership Tree Nursery have been planted at the Victoria Embankment and the Hook Nature Reserve at Lady Bay in recent weeks.
A third is to be given a new home at Ilkeston Road Recreation Ground, in Stapleford this month, more than 20 miles away from the Major Oak.
The three plantings are the result of a charity-funded walk that Stapleford writer Dave Wood took, retracing Sherwood Forest's ancient boundary, earlier this year.
Mr Wood said: "It's a great legacy of my walk.
"I would love to see more trees grown from the Major Oak planted around the route and to mark out the ancient boundary of Sherwood Forest."
He added: "The Major Oak is not going to survive forever, so it needs some younger ones to take its place.
"It also means that people realise that Sherwood Forest is not just somewhere in the north of Notts. It stretched right across from the city."
Mr Wood's Creative Perambulations of Sherwood Forest project, paid for by the National Lottery, started at the Victoria Embankment, which was once part of the forest.
A previous major perambulation of Sherwood Forest was carried out in 1662 by a team of explorers intent on mapping the landscape.
Mr Wood's wanted to replicate their journey, noting how the landscape has changed.
He was supported by the Sherwood Forest Trust and got to hear about the tree nursery, which is operated in partnership by the trust and Notts County Council.
Ian Major, community heritage landscape officer at Sherwood Forest Trust, said: "We go out once a year and collect acorns from the Major Oak.
"It's a rare resource as the number of acorns produced varies, while sometimes it's difficult to get them to germinate and become saplings.
"The majority of saplings get planted in woodland areas in north Notts, so it's really nice Dave is able to highlight the project by taking them into the city and more urban areas.
"We're using one of our most famous trees to plant the next generation of trees. It's an amazing piece of history."
The nursery at Sherwood Pines, in Clipstone, offers adults with learning disabilities work experience.