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Warning as ash trees are beaten by disease


Custard pies


at the ready ... COMPETITIONishottingupfor the Coxheath Pie Throwing contest, withTheKatieCreams already hav- ing thrown their hat into the ring. ChloëWhelan(pictured)headsup


the teamof Kate Cox, Kate Thomas and Charlotte Field. She said: “'I cannotwait to grab apie, aimfor the face and slap it hard. “Anyone who hasn’t experienced


custard pie throwing really should give it a go; plus it’s the only day I knowthat fancy dress is so publicly celebrated!” The tournament, attended by


PenelopeKeithlast year,will beheld in the grounds of Coxheath Village Hall in Stockett Lane on June 2. Teams of four, which will again


include a pie squad fromJapan, can register, for £40.Email theworldcus- tardpiechampionship@gmail.com.


THEY have dominated our coun- tryside for about 12,000 years – but people arebeingurgedtomake the most of our ash trees before they disappear forever. It is feared that up to 98% of the


trees, the dominant ones in the Downs, will be wiped out in the next 10 years as ash dieback – or Chalara – runs through them. The trees inMote Park are among


those to be hit by the disease, and most of the towns andvillages in the area are populated by ash trees. MadeleineHodge, of theAshProj-


ect, set up to highlight the trees’ plight, said: “It’s not scaremonger- ing to say this is a large-scale eco- nomic catastrophe. Itwill change the landscape of theDowns forever. “We can’t stop it, but we want to


celebrate the trees that we have whilewe still do.Wewant people to take photos andrecordwhat it’s like –we’ve seen lime and elmtrees die out andwe have no records of them, and we want people to love the landscape before it’s too late.


“What is happening to the ash


trees is a real concern. It is a seri- ously degraded landscape. The ash tree isprominent inKent andwe are already seeing a dramatic change.” It is not just the visual effect of the


landscape that needs attention,with a number of species also at risk if the ash trees fall away – and even some risk to road users. Volunteer tree warden David


Carey said: “Wemight expectmost ash trees in woods around Maid- stone to be badly affected or die in


Ash trees dominate the north downs – but for how


much longer? Pictures: Fiona Fyfe and Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty


the next 15 years. “Itwillmean a loss of diversity of


trees and fewer specific insects. It’s also badfor thewoodowners as ash sellswell as firewood. Itdoesn’t look good. “Even the largestwell grown trees


in more open areas will be increas- ingly affected. They could pose in- creasing dangers to pedestrians and traffic, unless they are expensively managed, as they die slowly and lose larger branches over the next couple of decades.”


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30 Maidstone May 2018 Taking notice


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