Bristol Youth Orchestra Celebrates Countryside Charity's 100 Years with Music & Trees

The Campaign to Protect Rural England, known as CPRE, is celebrating its 100th anniversary with a special concert in Bristol. The event will take place at the Bristol Beacon on March 29 and will feature the Bristol Youth Orchestra. The concert is not just about music; it will also include old films from the 1920s and 1930s, showing how the English countryside has changed over the years. The films will help people understand what life was like when farms used horses and people worked by hand, and how things changed after the war when farming became more modern.

Esther Clifford, who is 17 and a co-leader of the Bristol Youth Orchestra, believes that music and nature are closely linked. She says that many students in the orchestra care deeply about the countryside. Some enjoy walking their dogs, working in gardens, or helping animals recover. Esther feels that her generation understands how important it is to protect nature, especially now when the environment is facing big challenges. She thinks organizations like CPRE are important because they help protect the countryside for the future.

As part of the celebration, CPRE and the orchestra will plant 100 native trees in the Avon Valley. This is meant to be a lasting reminder of the concert and the charity’s work. The trees, including Hawthorn and Hazel, will be planted with the help of local people and volunteers near Pensford in Somerset. CPRE hopes this project will encourage more people to care for the countryside. They have also started a fundraiser to collect £10,000 to support the tree planting and to restore six miles of hedgerows by the end of the year. Tim Harrison, the musical director of the orchestra, says that playing music about the countryside and actually helping to protect it gives the young musicians a special purpose. The concert and the tree planting are both ways to honor the past and inspire people to look after the countryside in the future.