WE'RE looking ahead to a green canopy on Horsell Common. Well, not yet, but then the proverb says the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is now.

We were keen to join the recent tree planting initiative at the Rive Ponds on the Wheatsheaf area of Horsell Common over a weekend. 

Unfortunately, because of prior engagements, my daughter and I could only march out there, wellies on, spades at the ready, on Sunday afternoon. 

By that point several hundred people had already planted several thousand whips (young trees), each with its own greeny-yellow guard. Without the guards, the little whips would have blended into the background and been hard to spy.

We chatted to Jeremy Dalton, estate manager for the Horsell Common Preservation Society. He explained that although the tree guards look like plastic they are not, they are biodegradable.

However, if there are any remnants by the time the whips have taken hold after the first year or so, they will be removed. 

The guards, put around the slender stems, are necessary to prevent nibbling by voles, rabbits and deer. Jeremy told us there had been about 3,000 whips, supplied by Surrey County Council, and about 150 volunteers had got stuck in. He had been very pleasantly surprised at the way the weekend had gone. 

We did manage to plant a couple of trees each before they ran out. The soil was surprisingly malleable. Thank goodness there was no frost. 

Jeremy said the trees were all native and deciduous. There will be field maple, common hawthorn, alder buckthorn, guelder rose, hazel, rowan, and black alder.

I mentioned planting a noise break alongside the A320 Chertsey Road. Planting there, he said, is tricky due to the shade and tree roots. 

That is an area crying out for an evergreen hedge, for the traffic noise is considerable. It is hoped that Mother Nature will help out – as she always does. She’s a perfect example of getting a busy person to do a job.

Although the area is not fully open yet it is proving very popular, and not only with tree planters. There will be more boardwalks and paths, and a scrape to form another, shallow, pond. 

Heather seeds will be scattered and the tussocky grass that grew there before in profusion, will make a comeback. Some top soil had been removed and will be replaced.

There are floating green barriers on some waterways, to hold back debris, and smaller green silt traps. With all the work digging the ponds and clearing the ditches a lot of churned up silt was running along the Rive and finding its way into the River Wey. Hence the silt traps. Eventually, when the work has ceased, the traps will no longer be required.

Every day there is something new to see on the common.