How are you, Hinxton Hall black mulberry tree?

For many Campus staff, the relocation of the mulberry tree symbolises that time, ten years ago, when we re-developed the Conference Centre into what you see today.

In order to create the Conference Centre's current magnificent Event Space with its beautiful glass and steel roof, the courtyard, that had been surrounded by modern cloisters, was covered over. And the mulberry tree that grew there, that was already about 100 years old at that time, and had already been moved eighteen years years previously, needed to be moved again.

As part of our reflexion on ten years since the Conference Centre re-opened, we interviewed Wellcome Genome Campus Head Gardener, Lee Outhwaite, and ask him how the tree is doing now, eleven years on. (We also asked our Chefs to make a cake with its mulberries and share the recipe with us.)

Moving it was an expensive project which required a year and a half of planning and copious preparation. The Wellcome Genome Campus team worked with Civic Trees and 3M, to successfully and safely moved the tree into the grounds of the new accommodation court, which was then named after it.  As only one of two black mulberries in the region, it is very well looked after by the Campus grounds team and we're very proud of it.

Watch the following video, made at the time, which gives more detail about what was done to prepare the tree of the move, and features some incredible footage of the tree being lifted through the sky by a crane that can lift 30 tonnes!