AN arboretum planted by volunteers in tribute to a town’s most famous son was officially opened last Saturday.

The Rotary Club of Usk has planted more than 130 trees in an area by the Athletic Club at the bottom of Maryport Street in time to commemorate next year’s 200th anniversary of the birth of naturalist and scientist Alfred Russel Wallace - joint originator with Charles Darwin of the Theory of Evolution.

Last year, comedian and Wallace fan Bill Bailey unveiled a bust of him in the town’s Twyn Square.

And at midday, Monmouth MP David Davies officially opened the Wallace Arboretum in honour of the naturalist, who was born in Kensington Cottage, Llanbadoc on January 8, 1823.

He was introduced by Rotary President Bill Henshall who explained this was a project “we can blame entirely on Jonathan Stephens as it was his idea three years ago”, and explained it is still very much a “work in progress”.

The money came from a combination of Heritage Lottery and the Welsh Government, with a lot of support from Usk Town Council. The ground it stands in belongs to the Roger Edwards Field Association and is leased to the Usk Athletics Club.

“I wasn’t directly involved in this” said MP David Davies, “but it has been a pleasure to meet those who have, especially John, Nigel and the lads at the back who have been working every Saturday on this”, referring to the Probation Service team from Usk who will continue to maintain the ground.

“Alfred Wallace had quite a fascinating time in the 1800s: He went off traveling, he was an environmentalist and did a lot of things that other more famous people have done, such as Charles Darwin, but didn’t seem to get any credit for it,” said David.

“We might be able to describe him as an early environmentalist and now we see this area being transformed from landfill into a beautiful area with the different trees,” he added.

The project began last November and December when some dead and damaged trees were removed by a consultant tree expert, and members of the Rotary Club then joined forces with the Usk Conservation and Environment Group to clear some unsightly undergrowth and make room for the planting of the new trees in March.

More planting will take place this autumn, while an information board and an area has been set aside to plant a tree to commemorate next year’s 200th Anniversary.

The site was once the town’s refuse site, and although trees were planted there in the 1990s by the Prison Service, it had become overgrown.

Usk Rotary Club’s Lottery bid, which was put together during lockdown, had the support of Usk Town Council and landowners The Roger Edwards Educational Trust.

Later, Rotary hope to encourage the public to sponsor a tree in memory of a lost loved one or to celebrate the arrival of a new family member.

Although famous in his own lifetime, Wallace’s role was largely forgotten until recently after his death at the age of 90 in 1913.

While Darwin came from a wealthy background, Wallace, was “an unlikely hero, from humble origins,” Bill Bailey told people last November at the bust unveiling.