Freshwater's Trees
It has been reported the wonderful avenues of Horse Chestnut trees along School Green Road, Brookside and Queens Road are
to be felled. In the short term this is not completely true, some, because of their dangerous condition, will have to be
felled whilst others will have some surgery to eliminate a danger to the public. The report Freshwater Parish Council has
commissioned, from a qualified arboriculturalist, can be found by clicking here.
The Horse Chestnut trees are showing symptoms of Bleeding Canker which is caused by the bacterium Pseudomonas syringae.
There is also a moth, Cameraria, which mines the leaves causing premature leaf drop, this weakens trees and makes them
more susceptible to disease, this has already occurred elsewhere on the Island. This two-pronged attack will almost
certainly lead to the disappearance of Horse Chestnut trees.
Freshwater has lost a significant number of trees since 1998, mainly the loss of Elms due to Dutch Elm Disease and other
trees through land development. This has made huge changes to the landscape from which it will take many years to recover.
Freshwater Parish Council has formed a sub-committee to find the best way forward and are working with the Isle of Wight
Council's Tree Officer to resolve the problem. A shortlist of replacement species is being compiled and this will be
announced in due course.
On the 11th March 2008 about 20 local residents attended the planting of Oak trees in Granny's Meade, see the Press
Release by clicking here.
It is hoped the Tree Heaven project, launched by Freshwater Parish Council in March 2007, will continue to replace trees
lost through disease, development of land or simply reaching the end of their lives. If you would like to fund a tree
as a memorial, or for any other reason, please use the "Contact Us" page to place your request.