School children get involved in planting
As part of the county council’s ambition to plant one million trees by 2030, school groups have been learning about tree planting.
Gloucestershire County Council have provided trees for school children to plant in Gloucestershire.
Nearly 800 trees were planted in January at Wick Court with Farms for City Children.
Farms for City Children is a charity enabling children from disadvantaged communities to experience the adventure of working on a farm in the heart of the British countryside.
Children from Ravenstone Primary School worked with farmers to do seasonal jobs around the farm, helping to look after livestock and the land.
As it is planting season, the school children also helped to plant trees during their five-day stay at the farm.
The trees were predominately hazel whips and will be coppiced in the future to be used in weaving by school groups.
Between 2020 and March 2022, the county council planted 66,390 trees and, if conditions allow, more than 80,000 will be planted this season.
The project has been funded by the Woodland Trust’s Emergency Tree Fund.
Cllr David Gray, cabinet member for environment and planning, attended the day and said: “It was fantastic to see young people engaging with tree planting and learning more about Gloucestershire.”
Rosie Walker from the Woodland Trust said: “The Woodland Trust’s Emergency Tree Fund was set up to support councils in achieve their tree planting ambitions, to help fight climate change and improve the places we live with trees.
“We are delighted to help Gloucestershire County Council plant more than 40,000 trees with this money in nearly 40 different places this planting season.
“This is just one way the funding is doing that, and we are pleased to have been able to support this project that enables young people to get involved, not only now as the trees are planted but into the future as these trees are coppiced and the wood used in future activities.”
If you have land available for planting please get in touch by using the expression of interest form and you can find out more about tree planting here.
Planting trees will help us work towards a Greener Gloucestershire by improving air quality and biodiversity. You can sign up to receive the ‘Greener Gloucestershire’ newsletter to keep up to date on local activity, as well as to receive hints and tips on how you can reduce carbon emissions.