The Millennium Tree Line
Planting of the final tree on Malton Road
By Sue Miller
Orwell made its mark on the Millennium Tree Line, set up under the sponsorship of the University of Greenwich to conserve existing trees along the Greenwich Meridian (zero degrees longitude) and to add new ones. The tree line is intended to be an enduring feature across the countryside of England, Europe and Africa.
As it passes through our parish the Greenwich Meridian coincides with a stretch of Malton Road where, in the autumn of 1999, parish council Tree Warden Bob Bryant planted, almost single handedly, forty trees donated by the following village groups:
Orwell & District Horticultural Society, The Orwell Singers, Orwell Players, the Village Hall Committee, Orwell Methodist Church, Orwell Women's Institute, Lordship Communal Club, Orwell Local History Society, the Friends of Meadowcroft Way, 1st Orwell Scouts, Orwell Youth Club and Volac UK Ltd. Individual donations were also made.
The trees planted were Field Maple, Norwegian Maple, Crab Apple, Beech, Hornbeam, Wild Cherry, Ash and Oak.
Villagers watch as Gordon Lines and Joan Stammers plant the final tree
Cambridge News
The final tree on Malton Road was planted on Saturday 19th December 1999 by Mrs Joan Stammers, chairman of Orwell Horticultural Society and Gordon Lines, chairman of Orwell Parish Council.