A Covid memorial woodland has been officially named following a competition for pupils from Fulbourn Primary School.
Cambridgeshire County Council planted the woodland earlier this year to create a lasting legacy marking the difficulties faced and lives lost during the Covid pandemic.
The woodland is an extension to one already on the site and the footpath creates a walk connecting Fulbourn and the Roman Road.
Fulbourn Primary School’s Wellbeing Committee, made up of students who submitted the shortlist of potential names, were on hand to unveil the sign at Memory Wood, on the Lower Valley Farm site in Fulbourn, part of the Council’s County Farms estate.
The unveiling took place on the 15 June which is also Clean Air Day, the global campaign day which seeks to raise awareness of air pollution. The theme this year is ‘Clean up the air to look after your mind,’ and focuses on the impact that air pollution has on health.
Cllr Lucy Nethsingha, Leader of Cambridgeshire County Council, said: “I am delighted to be able to unveil the name of Memory Wood. I’d, firstly, like to thank each and every student who entered the competition, I had to make a very difficult choice! A special well done to Fulbourn Primary School’s Wellbeing Committee who came up with a fantastic shortlist.
“Memory Wood is so important because, not only does it create a place of lasting legacy, but it also contributes to our organisation’s ambitions to increase our connections with nature, the environment and contribute to our goal of a Net Zero Cambridgeshire by 2045.
“My thanks also go, of course, to the wonderful people who made this project happen, and I hope that many of us will be able to visit Memory Wood in person. Covid and the lockdowns associated with it were an incredibly difficult time for so many people. There were so many families who lost loved ones, and were unable to be with family members at critical times. I know the healing from that time will take many years, and I hope this woodland will allow some people to feel the pain of that period is not forgotten, and to enjoy the peace and beauty of this place while they remember what we have all lost.”
