Warwickshire County Council is encouraging schools, colleges and community groups to apply for a totally free tree-planting kit from the Woodland Trust. In order for the UK to meet its 2050 carbon ...
Warwickshire County Council is encouraging schools, colleges and community groups to apply for a totally free tree-planting kit from the Woodland Trust.
In order for the UK to meet its 2050 carbon net-zero target, it is going to need to plant millions more trees across the country. This is why the Woodland Trust are reaching out to schools, colleges and community groups to offer them a range of free-tree planting kits to create a variety of new wooded areas and extensive habitats for animals.
Trees are pretty essential to life on Earth; as trees grow, they help stop climate change by removing carbon dioxide from the air. The trees then store the harmful carbon in their roots and in the soil and release oxygen into the atmosphere. Though people perhaps don’t often think much about them, trees provide many benefits to us, every single day.
Warwickshire County Council will be supporting the Woodland Trust on its own ambition to plant a tree for every person in the county, but also wants to ensure that residents are aware of the tree-planting kit offer that the Trust are currently running.
Who can apply for a tree-planting kit?
The following organisations and groups are eligible:
- Schools across the UK, plus nurseries, colleges, universities and outdoor learning centres
- All kinds of different groups such as resident associations, sports clubs, parish councils, scouts, guides and many more.
Residents don’t need to belong to an official organisation, they could even set up a group for the purpose of planting, but it must be not-for-profit.
The most important thing is that groups are willing to take on the planning, planting and care of the saplings.
How much space is needed for planting?
The trees can be planted as copses, groves, avenues, shelter belts, hedgerows and in a variety of other ways.
The amount of space needed will differ depending on how the trees are planted:
- A 30 sapling pack will cover around one tennis court, or create 6-8 metres of double-row hedging
- A 105 sapling pack will cover 4 tennis courts, or create a double-row hedgerow of 20-25 metres
- A 420 sapling pack will cover a football pitch, or create a double-row hedgerow of 85-100 metres
In terms of land for planting trees, this has to be publicly assessible open space or groups will require written permission of the landowner to undertake any planting activity.
Help and Advice
The Woodland Trust’s website provides a huge range of tips and advice for all stages of the planning, planting and care of saplings meaning a knowledge of horticulture, while advantageous, is certain not essential.
Apply today!
Make the first steps towards your tree planting adventure today and apply for pack: https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/plant-trees/schools-and-communities/
Cllr Heather Timms, Warwickshire County Council Portfolio Holder for Heritage, Culture and the Environment, said: “I hope to see as many schools, colleges and community groups as possible applying for their free tree-planting kits from the Woodland Trust.
“The challenges we face through the changing climate of our planet can only be overcome through a concerted collective effort to reduce our consumption of fossil fuels and thereby minimising our Carbon footprints.
“Warwickshire County Council has made leaps and bounds in reducing its own Carbon footprint and we are now calling on our residents to think about the things that they can do to benefit the cause. Planting trees are a great place to start as their benefits are manifold: they help to remove harmful carbon dioxide from the atmosphere while creating beautiful outdoor environments and providing new habitats for a variety of wildlife.”
To apply for a planting kit for your school, college or community group, visit: https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/plant-trees/schools-and-communities/
Find out more about what is involved in tree-planting on the Woodland Trust’s helpful FAQ page; https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/plant-trees/schools-and-communities/frequently-asked-questions/
For more information about how Warwickshire County Council is facing the challenges of human-influenced climate change, visit: https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/theclimateemergency