Little Thetford

Parish Conservation Volunteers
In 2006 The Little Thetford Parish Conservation Volunteers in association with the Parish Council established a Conservation Area at the north eastern end of the village playing field.It is surrounded by a hedge of hawthorn, blackthorn, field maple, wild privet, dog rose and guilder rose.

Contact details:

  • Mr Robert Bullen – robert.bullen1@tesco.net
  • Tel 01353 649268 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 01353 649268 end_of_the_skype_highlighting (Daytime) – 01353 649268 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 01353 649268 end_of_the_skype_highlighting (Evening)
Dave Nichols and two founder volunteers planting the first hedge whips.A pond with an island was dug. The pond is in front of a drainage ditch with reeds and a bank.
Robert Bullen, Gilly Lancaster, Gus Pretorious and Peter Money working hard.A woodland area made up of 100 trees of oak, ash, rowan, field maple, hazel, birch, spindle and holly was planted by volunteers.

Two wild areas (one grassy, one boggy) were left to establish naturally.
Volunteers planting the woodland area
A year after the woodland area was planted an apple orchard with some pear and gage trees was planted. All the trees are traditional Cambridgeshire trees.The 25 trees planted composed of are:-

  • Barnack Beauty – Dessert Apple
  • Chivers Delight – Dessert Apple
  • Cambridge Gage – Gage
  • Cockett’s Red – Dessert Apple
  • Green Harvey – Dessert Apple
  • Histon Favourite – Dessert Apple
  • Jolly Miller – Culinary Apple
  • Lord Burghley – Dessert Apple
  • Lady Hollendale – Dessert Apple
  • Lord Peckover – Dessert Apple
  • Murfitt’s Seedling – Culinary Apple
  • New Rock Pippin – Dessert Apple
  • Perfection – Dessert Apple
  • Saint Everard -Dessert Apple
  • Thoday’s Quarrenden – Dessert Apple
  • Wayside – Dessert Apple
  • Wallis Wonder – Pear
  • Malus “Tschonoskii” – Crab Apple
The finished pond
Unfortunately one of the original volunteers – Dave Nichols, was killed in a car crash at the entrance to Little Thetford. A memorial bench to Dave has been erected adjacent to the pond in the Conservation Area.