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Volunteers turn out in force for community tree planting events

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Scores of volunteers turned out in force to help plant hundreds of trees at four areas in St Albans District.

St Albans City and District Council is planting 3,000 trees this year as part of its priority goals of tackling the climate emergency and improving the environment.

Residents and community groups were invited to plant several hundred small trees, known as whips, at four separate locations.

These were Everlasting Lane open space, St Albans, Nomansland Common, near Wheathampstead, and Tallents Crescent and Westfield Road Cemetery, Harpenden.

The events were organised by the Council with support from Hertfordshire County Council’s Countryside Management Service and the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust which is running the Wilder St Albans project.

Councillor Jamie Day, Chair of the Council’s Climate Advisory Group, attended the Everlasting Lane planting along with more than 80 volunteers.

These were mainly Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Explorers from St Albans District along with their leaders and parents.

The District Scouts have been highly active in planting trees since 2019 – and have planted more than 6,000 across the District since then.

Cllr Day said:

I was hugely impressed by the response to our plea for help with planting the whips. The turn-out at Everlasting Lane and elsewhere was truly fantastic.

It was particularly pleasing to see so many enthusiastic young boys and girls from the Scout movement taking the lead and planting dozens of small trees.

This community involvement in our ambitious tree planting programme shows that our commitment to greening the District is fully supported by our residents.

We will be looking to plant many thousands more trees in the years ahead and will continue to call on community groups for their help.

Ian Burnett, First London Colney Scout Group Leader, said:

I was overwhelmed by the turnout of the young people and leaders from across our District to help in this project at each of the various locations.

The Beavers, Cub, Scouts and Explorers have done a fantastic job helping the community, fighting against climate change and enhancing the environment.

Collaborating with the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust, the District Scouts are planning to do another tree planting event in November and, in the following years, increase the number of trees planted across St Albans and beyond.

The planting took place on Sunday 13 March.

  • In a separate initiative, twelve oaks have been planted at The Wick green space in St Albans by volunteers from the Friends of The Wick and the Countryside Management Service. The trees were donated by a local tree nursery, Herts Native Trees, and were planted within the grassland to mark the edges of a new wildflower meadow and within a glade in the woodland.

 

 

Pictures: top – Cllr Day working as a tree planting volunteer; Cllr Day, 2nd from left in back row, with St Albans District scouts and leaders at the Everlasting Lane open space tree planting; bottom - volunteers at The Wick planting.

Councillor Contact: Councillor Jamie Day, Chair of the Climate Advisory Group: cllr.j.day@councillor.stalbans.gov.uk; 01727 836924.

Contact for the media: John McJannet, Principal Communications Officer: 01727 819533john.mcjannet@stalbans.gov.uk.