Thousands take part in countywide tree giveaway
News Release from Hertfordshire County Council: Over 4,000 people have taken up the offer of free trees as part of Our Tree Our Future scheme which will see a minimum of 100,000 trees given away over the next four years.
On Saturday 3 December 46,000 trees were collected, as residents from across the county took up the offer of free trees. It is estimated that these trees could remove 77,000 tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere over their lifetime.
The giveaway has been delivered by a partnership of the county council and Hertfordshire’s district and borough councils, as well as local charity Growing People. Herts FullStop provided its facilities, workforce and logistical expertise to help prepare and deliver the trees to the relevant pick-up points across the county.
The tree giveaway is just one of the ways we hope to deliver our Tree and Woodland Strategy, which outlines plans to establish 1.8m new trees in Hertfordshire by 2030.
Working with partners across the county will be key in delivering this ambitious figure. We have recently successfully bid for £78,983 on behalf of district and borough councils from the Local Authority Treescape fund. This funding will allow for a further 6,688 trees to be planted across the county this winter.
In addition, further funding from the Government’s Woodland Creation Accelerator Fund will allow the council to hire two new members of staff to provide support and work in partnership with others to deliver tree, hedgerow, and woodland planting between spring 2023 and 2025.
Councillor Chris White, Leader of St Albans City and District Council, said:
I was delighted with the response of our residents to this excellent scheme.
More than 750 people from the District successfully applied for trees and, given the demand, we decided to fund a further 3,000 trees to double the number that were available to around 7,000.
Our staff distributed most of those trees at the weekend from car parks at Westminster Lodge in St Albans and Amenbury Lane in Harpenden so people can start planting them now.
The enthusiasm for Your Tree Our Future shows that we have overwhelming support from our residents for our priority goal of tackling the climate emergency. Trees are an important way of doing this as they help provide cleaner air and generally improve the environment.
I am sure our District will respond with the same interest to the next giveaway in the autumn of next year.
Councillor Eric Buckmaster, Executive Member for the Environment for Hertfordshire County Council, said:
Tree planting remains one of the most effective tools for delivering our Sustainable Hertfordshire ambitions. Planting trees in the right place helps to improve nature, tackle air pollution and reduces the amount of carbon in our atmosphere, as well as having positive impacts on physical and mental wellbeing”
We are thrilled that the Your Tree Our Future project has enabled and inspired so many of our residents to contribute to our fight against climate change through tree planting, and we are looking forward to the next giveaway window in Autumn 2023.
Anyone looking to take part in the Your Tree Our Future scheme can sign up to receive an email when the window re-opens in 2023 at www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/yourtree
Picture: trees been given away at Westminster Lodge.