DEDDINGTON residents have celebrated a decade since they built up a wood from scratch.

Part of the Woodland Trust’s Woods on your Doorstep project, the community has spent ten years, planting, weeding and pruning trees that stand on a site that was previously bare land.

Residents took up the project as part of the millennium celebration and earlier this month gathered to mark ten years working on the nine-acre Daeda’s Wood.

Elspeth Cox, of the Friends of Daeda’s Wood, said: “The last ten years have proved to be a challenge, but an extremely rewarding one. To see fully-fledged woodland where previously there was none is a moving experience, when I think that it has come from the hard work of people in our community.

“Each year, during the Deddington Festival, we hold an event in the wood but this year was special; we were celebrating all our achievements since the millennium and looking forward to the next milestone.”

The weekend celebration included guided walks of the wood and a willow weaving session.

Victoria Hodson, of the Woodland Trust, added: “The UK is one of the least wooded countries in Europe, so to see communities like the one here in Deddington actively taking on the challenge of planting more native trees and celebrating what they have created ten years later is inspirational.

“Trees bring so many different benefits to communities; we’d love to hear from other groups who want to achieve the same.”

The Woodland Trust’s millennium project saw 250 woods created across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.