A group of refugees have met for Saturday lunch for the last four years with Fr Peter Keeling and some parishioners of St Francis, Middlesbrough. On 5th December, they gathered to plant trees in the church grounds for National Tree Week. Promoted by the BBC, this was part of a nationwide effort to set a Guinness World Record for the most trees planted in one hour. Fr Keeling said ‘We planted our trees with an awareness of the contribution trees make to the health and beauty of our environment.’

Also on the tree theme, parishioners of Holy Cross, Cottingham and members of the Diocesan Justice and Peace Commission met recently at New Covert Wood, near Sutton on Derwent, where an acre of Woodland Trust trees was dedicated to the memory of Fr Anthony Storey, a great ‘woodsman’ in his time. Parish Priest of Holy Cross, Fr Pat Day, also dedicated a bench there, in Fr Storey’s name. Fr Storey raised saplings in his garden in Hull and planted trees all over the Diocese including at the Lady Chapel in Osmotherley.