STANFORD RIVERS: Dog walker nurtures his own woodland

By labrown

FROM little acorns mighty oaks grow – a phrase which has been this dog walker's mantra for the past 25 years.

Retired policeman Jim Neat, 63, stands proud in a woodland of his own making, a legacy that he will leave behind for future generations.

Strolling through Epping Forest with his dogs in the 1980s, Jim bent down and collected a handful of acorns.

Before long his pockets were bulging and he headed home to Stanford Rivers.

Over the years he repeated this practice, painstakingly sowing his haul at a four-acre wasteland site off London Road in Stanford Rivers.

Today his efforts can be seen by all because the site is home to more than 100 oak trees.

Jim said: "It was just bare land when I started – there wasn't even grass there.

"I've sowed thousands of acorns in the past 25 years."

Jim proudly describes his creation as an 'annex of Epping Forest' but is reluctant to call himself an environmentalist.

"I'm not interested in flowers or anything else it's just trees that I find beautiful," he said.

Although he now lives in Stondon Massey, Jim still cares for the site and returns to water the trees during the dry summer months.

He said: "It's greatly enhanced the site and delighted other local dog walkers.

"There is nothing like walking your dog through woodland. It's fabulous and I'm very proud of it."

The trees have grown to between a foot and five-feet tall but Jim has high ambitions for the future of his wood.

"If these trees are nurtured they will last hundreds of years and my hope is that the site will remain undeveloped and the trees will be left unmolested."

Although the site is not owned by Jim, his actions have been welcomed by Charles Padfield, whose family are the long-term tenants of the land

Mr Padfield said: "The site was used for gravel extraction in the 70s so it's of no use for agricultural purposes.

"We sowed a couple of trees there but Jim really went to town on it and it looks all the better for it."