GREEN-fingered residents in Warwickshire are encouraged to plant a tree or two during the upcoming planting season.
The UK tree planting season runs between the colder months of November and March when trees are naturally dormant and there is less chance of them being damaged during the planting process. Trees planted during this period will tend to have the best chance of survival to maturity.
Warwickshire County Council has ambitious tree planting plans that will see a tree for every resident planted across the county by 2030. This tree planting programme has been strategically planned to restore parts of forests and wooded areas that have been long lost to time, such as the ancient Forest of Arden, which once covered most of the county and beyond into Staffordshire and Worcestershire.
To support this aim, WCC recently created its own tree nursery , which will supply whips and saplings to meet its own planting needs and, in the longer term, be available to other organisations across the county. This nursery will not only be able to supply tree stock, but because they are grown locally, will also dramatically reduce the carbon footprint of trees that are planted when compared to imported alternatives.
And while WCC has its own targets for tree planting, it is also inviting everyone in Warwickshire to embark on their own tree planting during the coming winter months.
WCC climate spokesperson Coun Heather Timms said: “There is no better time than right now to plant a tree in Warwickshire and to play your part in reducing carbon emissions and increasing the county’s biodiversity through the creation of new habitats for wildlife.
“The global reduction of woods and forests and associated habitat and biodiversity loss is one of the greatest damages that we have done to our planet and its ecosystems. Renewed tree planting across the world will be integral to our response to the mounting climate crisis, which is why this council is so committed to its own tree planting and to encouraging our residents, businesses, community and voluntary groups to do the same where they can.
“The Woodlands Trust have stated that to meet the UK’s carbon net-zero target, it will need to plant at least 1.44 million hectares of new forestry across the country. In Warwickshire, we are fully committed to playing our part in this huge tree planting challenge.”
