Council encourages tree planting ahead of National Tree Week
As National Tree Week begins on Saturday, Vale of White Horse District Council is encouraging community groups and residents across the district to plant trees to help tackle the climate emergency.
Through its partnerships, and its policy for planting trees on council-owned land the council aims to contribute to national tree planting campaigns including the government’s target to increase tree planting to 30,000 hectares per year across the UK by 2025.
Earlier this year this policy saw 150 volunteers join a major tree planting event in Abingdon as part of a project to plant 1,500 trees by the River Thames and more communities are applying to plant on council-owned land.
In addition, the council supports the Queen’s Green Canopy which aims to create a living legacy of trees planted in Her Majesty’s name.
The council has also produced a tree planting guide for communities which gives information on how, when, where and which types of trees to plant.
Councillor Sally Povolotsky, Vale of White Horse District Council Cabinet Member for Climate Emergency and Environment said: “Trees play a vital role in taking carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, but also in mitigating climate effects. Trees provide shade, temperature reduction and cooling effects, they are homes to our wildlife, and help reduce the impact of flooding by surface water absorption through their root structures.
“National Tree Week focuses our minds on the importance of trees to our climate as it marks the beginning of the tree planting season, which is great, but we want to encourage people across the Vale to get involved in all kinds of events that help to tackle climate change all year round.”
How to get involved with tree planting
In the first instance, speak to your local climate action group, town or parish council, employer or business park to see if there are projects happening locally that you can get involved with.
If you can’t find a project locally, please get in touch with Oxfordshire Treescapes Project, Wild Oxfordshire or The Woodland Trust for advice on how you can start your own project.
Free trees are available for community groups from The Conservation Volunteers’ ‘I dig trees’ campaign or The Woodland Trust for schools and for landowners and farmers.
Notes to editors
National Tree Week runs from Saturday 26 November to Sunday 4 December. More information at the National Tree Week website.
Links to websites for further reading
