Man Powell address the group
Left to right: Rose Cobb, Tony Willis (Euroforest Chairman) and Alan Powell show off the commemorative plaque.
With the sad and premature death of Alan Cobb of Euroforest, his friends and family wanted to create a living memorial to a man who had been in forestry all his life.
A 1/2 hectare plot situated close to a picnic spot in the Forest Enterprise woodlands near Farnham in Surrey was chosen by Alan’s widow, Rose. She particularly wanted it to be planted with pure English oak – a species that Alan so loved.
Woodland Heritage trustees knew that the chances of these trees surviving into maturity were well nigh hopeless, given that deer predation in the area was virtually uncontrollable. They therefore agreed to provide a 6 ft high deer fence (with rabbit wire below) to protect the site.
Forest Enterprise staff planted the ‘1+1’ oak at 2 metre spacing – 1300 young trees in all. Despite the drought of 2003 the area manager reported that losses had been minimal and that the young oaks were doing very well. This oak plot will now be used by Forest Enterprise for training purposes. Alan would have approved.