National Tree Week
This week is National Tree Week, the UK’s largest annual tree celebration and The Tree Council are encouraging everyone to get involved.
Across the country, people will be planting thousands of trees to mark the start of the winter tree planting season.
“Trees and hedgerows are some of the most powerful tools we have in the fight against climate change. And the good news is that we can all make a difference by planting a tree! Every tree will help us grow a greener future together.”
The Tree Council are offering a downloadable tree planting guide to help you find out more about what tree to choose, where and how to plant it. You can also find your nearest Tree Warden Network if you want to plant as part of a team to see what’s happening in your area.
What is happening in Buckinghamshire?
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Residents invited to help plant 4,000 hedgerow plants and trees along the Platinum Way
To celebrate National Tree Week (26 November- 5 December), Chiltern Rangers will be hosting nine days of tree planting events in Aylesbury which will see over 4,000 trees, hedgerow plants, native bulbs and wildflowers planted as part of the £1.4M upgrade to the Platinum Way Greenway in Aylesbury.
Buckinghamshire Council is working in partnership with Chiltern Rangers and the local community to realise the ambitious Bucks Tree Mission which aims to create a greener future by planting over 543,000 trees in Buckinghamshire over the next nine years. Take a look at the map displaying the tree planting locations along the Platinum Way route, can you join our mission?
If you’d like to get involved in the planting – even just for a couple of hours – please email info@chilternrangers.co.uk. They will then send you further details of each day’s location for planting.
Details on the different events can also be found on Eventbrite, just search for Platinum Way at: www.eventbrite.com
Find out more about the Bucks Tree Mission.
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HS2 Celebrates 5 years of tree planting and Habitat creation in National Tree Wee
During National Tree Week, and as HS2 starts its next season of tree planting, the project is celebrating the first five years of habitat creation on Phase One.
Over 845,000 trees have now been planted and maintained including native species such as hazel, hawthorn, oak, blackthorn and silver birch. Ecology companies along the Phase One route have created 119 new wildlife sites which are already thriving homes for wildlife, ensuring HS2 protects the country’s precious biodiversity and leaves a lasting legacy for local communities.
Many acres of new wetland, heathland and meadow have been created and HS2 has also built homes for wildlife including 2,000 bat boxes either within HS2’s wildlife sites or in existing nearby woodlands.
Around 150 hibernacula and 65 reptile banks have been created which provide new homes for reptiles and amphibians, helping local wildlife thrive and support delicately balanced local ecosystems. Over 160 barn owl boxes and 29 artificial badger setts have also been created and thousands of newts have been successfully rehomed.
David Prys-Jones, Biodiversity Lead at HS2 Ltd said:
We’re now five years into our extensive environment programme to create more than 33 square kilometres of new wildlife habitats along the HS2 route, the equivalent of 23 new Hyde Parks lining the spine of the country.
In this year’s National Tree Week, it’s fantastic to see our wildlife habitats thriving, but this is really just the beginning. Over the coming years, our ecology contractors will continue to create more habitats to sustain healthy populations of UK flora and fauna, providing a network of bigger, better-connected, climate resilient habitats and new green spaces for wildlife and people to enjoy.
- Pictures of mature trees, ponds and wildflower meadows through the summer months: https://mediacentre.hs2.org.uk/resources/f/environment/tree-planting-2/five-years-of-tree-planting
- Video here: HS2 celebrates five years of tree planting and habitat creation – YouTube
Other useful sites:
https://treecouncil.org.uk/seasonal-campaigns/national-tree-week
