Silver Birch trees of Town Gardens
In 2016, a stand of silver birch trees was planted in Calne Town Garden as part of the Calne Air Quality Action Plan with £2000 of funding from the Calne Area Board in 2015. Birch, a pioneer and an opportunist, was one of the first trees to recolonise Britain as the glaciers retreated. While birch rarely live for more than 80 years, the wind-blown seeds are able to create a woodland of its own; at least until competition from other species becomes too much. Fans of Ray Mears, the bushcraft specialist, will know that the paper-thin bark can be teased off younger trees to make tinder. The bark naturally peels away as the tree grows, leading to the local names of Paper-beech in Wiltshire and Ribbon-tree in Somerset, in later years the bark will crack and become textured. Flowering before the leafing out is important for trees, such as birch, which rely on the wind for pollination. Birch flowers present as catkins. The male catkins droop down and can release vast amounts of pollen, i...