We would really appreciate your help.

The Friends of Holywell has a modest income which has been used (with the exception of the newsletter to Friends) exclusively for the maintenance of paths and insurance to enable the cemetery to be accessible and open to the public. The Trustees of the Friends of Holywell Cemetery are unanimous in their wish to tackle the areas between the paths which have become, in most cases, homes to brambles making the spaces impenetrable to visitors and swamping the wild and beautiful flowering plants that have been enjoyed in previous years. The Trustees have also agreed to fund a tree conservation scheme which the University Park’s Aboriculturist has advised to keep the cemetery safe and the trees healthy. Our current level of income cannot cover the costs of doing this. We would really appreciate your help.

The tree conservation scheme of works is estimated to cost £672 (inclusive of VAT which we are unable to recover). The conservation project to improve the biodiversity and the accessibility of the cemetery is being drawn up by the University Parks team at the present and is being broken down into key areas. We will provide further information about this. It is important that this work gets underway in late October to November. It is the optimal time for the conservation to take place as the brambles and nettles will have died down and we want to make sure that the snowdrops and other early flowering plants are not damaged and have the opportunity to grow and bloom properly.

This will be a large project but one which will enhance the cemetery for all of our visitors. It will also allow gardening in the future to be done on a rotational basis throughout the year to enhance the ability of ground nesting birds to successfully rear their young each season.

Thank you.