Schools and community groups are being invited to take part in a free trees green recovery scheme being run by the Woodland Trust, which will see hundreds of thousands of trees distributed to communities around the county.
Hundreds of schools have already taken part in the projects, including St Michael’s, St Mark’s in Bath, Westbury Infants, Midsomer Norton Primary, Fitzmaurice Primary in Bradford on Avon and Hazlegrove Prep.
The scheme has two delivery periods a year, with invitations being welcomed for the trees to be delivered in November.
Senior project lead, Vicki Baddeley, explained, “Our free trees for schools and community groups give us the opportunity to create more of these spaces and address the climate and nature crises at grass roots level. We’ve heard a lot about economic recovery as a result of the Coronavirus but you can’t make the economy more resilient without making the environment resilient too.
“It’s fantastic that so many saplings have been snapped up for the approaching planting season; saplings that will provide plenty of benefits for wildlife and for people whether that be locking up carbon, improved soil or water, new habitat, a food source, an outdoor classroom or a community space to benefit our wellbeing.”
Since the initiative started in 2010, more than ten million trees have been sent across the UK to schools and community groups keen to improve their local area.
Packs contain a mix of UK sourced and grown native broadleaf species such as hazel, rowan, hawthorn, common oak, silver birch, wild cherry, elder, dogwood and holly.
Packs are available that will provide year-long colour, a wild harvest or a haven for wildlife, as well as one that contains hardy species which tolerate exposed sites and dry up areas where water collects easily and a working wood mix which could provide fuel for wood burners or willow for weaving.
The packs come in various sizes, starting at packs of 15, which are perfect for residential areas with limited communal space. If no shared space is available, applications to split between neighbouring front gardens to green up a street are considered.
Other pack sizes include 30 saplings, which will create an eight-metre hedgerow or a tennis court-sized copse, 105 which is enough to cover an area as big as four tennis courts, or 420 to cover an area the size of a football pitch.
To order the free trees, visit www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/freetrees before 14 August.