The third planting at Thornton Grove took place during school half-term on Shrove Tuesday, February 2026. Fifteen volunteers – Dream For Trees friends and teenagers – came to complete the final 500 trees of the February sequence after the stormy weather during the second planting meant that it didn’t complete on the day.
The lower boundary of the site runs alongside a public footpath, currently separated from the playing field by a chainlink fence. As The Grove matures, the planted trees will form a natural screen along this edge, giving the children a more contained and enclosed outdoor space for forest school activities.
Working without the structure of a school day, the group set their own pace. One volunteer brought a blackthorn staff, said to have belonged to their great grandfather. When the last tree was in, the group shared a picnic. It being Shrove Tuesday, everyone went home with a jar of pancake mix.
Forest Three completed the February planting sequence: 3,500 trees in the ground across three sessions. The Grove program continues.
