30/04/2009

Issued by Castle Howard 

With yellow blossom dripping from the Italian Maple (Acer opalus) and the bright pink buds of the Rhododendron oreodoxa bursting into flower, spring is definitely in the air at The Arboretum at Castle Howard.  By early May, swathes of beautiful blue camassia will be covering areas of the woodland floor, whilst above them in the trees new green buds and wild pear blossom appear. 

With thousands of trees from hundreds of places, seeds of these exotic trees were gathered from around the temperate world, some of which are very rare, and the collection at the Castle Howard Arboretum Trust stands without parallel in the north of England and acts as the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew's northern reserve for many valuable tree species.  The Arboretum, which this year is celebrating its 10^th anniversary of being open to the public, welcomes visitors every day between 10am and 6pm until the end of November. 

A major event in the Arboretum's calendar during 2009 will be the inaugural ‘Wild About Wood' Festival which takes place on Saturday 12^th and Sunday 13th September and promises to be the best annual event of its kind in the North of England.   ‘Wild About Wood' aims to inspire, educate and entertain members of the public of all ages and tree festival fun will include chainsaw sculpting, heavy horse logging, coracle making, willow weaving, and an authentic Viking encampment.

Maurag Carmichael, Hon Administrator at The Arboretum said: "At this time of year everywhere you look there is something thrilling to see, the first flush of green buds on thousands of trees, willows, catkins, and the stately cammasia, shy primroses, clouds of wild pear blossom and ground nesting birds. We would encourage people to come to The Arboretum and share the beauty and tranquillity of this place with us."

Chair of the trustees Sir Ron Cooke, said: "Spring is always really special at The Arboretum and this year it marks the start of our countdown to the ‘Wild About Wood' Festival.  We are very excited about this and are planning two action packed days in September.  There'll be something for everyone, whether you fancy taking a coracle ride on the lake, or taking some quiet time to listen to our eco storyteller, or watching in awe as the heavy horse loggers go through their paces. We hope lots of people will come and enjoy the delights of The Arboretum and see what a great day out it is at any time of the year."

Kew at Castle Howard Arboretum Trust is an independent charity established to maintain and protect this unique collection of trees. It is dedicated to welcoming visitors to the Arboretum who wish to learn about trees and their importance to the changing climatic environment as well as visitors who simply want to enjoy the tranquillity and beauty of the location.   In February, the Trust, became one of the first organisations in the country to be awarded the Learning Outside the Classroom Quality Badge, recognising it as a provider of quality, safely managed educational experiences for young people.

Wild About Wood is being sponsored by a number of local businesses including:

Bivouac Design; Monks Cross Shopping Park; Intandem Marketing and PR; Ignite Meetings Management; Harrowells Solicitors; Shepherd Group; CPP; McCain Foods; Sir George Martin Trust.

For more information about visiting the Arboretum contact the centre on 01653 648598 or see www.kewatch.co.uk

For more information about attending or sponsoring Wild About Wood please see: www.wildaboutwood.org or contact Anna Porter on email: anna@wildaboutwood.org or telephone: 1904 643282

ENDS