Date issued: 14 November 2019
Colchester Borough Council will be marking the start of National Tree Week, on Saturday 23 November, by planting the first trees of its Colchester Woodland Project – and residents are being invited to play their part.
A special planting event is being held at Spring Lane Park, in Lexden, from 10.30am, to kick off the ambitious Colchester Woodland Project. Residents, schools and community groups are being invited to take part in the special planting session, as 2000 new trees are planted at the site.
The session is the start of the Colchester Woodland Project, which aims to see 200,000 trees planted across the borough over the next five years. Currently, more than 20 sites have been identified to help the project take root.
The Colchester Woodland Project, which will help offset 32,000 tonnes of carbon over the lifetime of the trees, is part of the Better Colchester campaign. It is also one of the first green steps the council is taking to help protect the planet since councillors agreed to declare a Climate Emergency.
Cllr David King, Portfolio Holder for Business and Resources, said: “Friends of the Earth ranks Colchester as one of the most climate-friendly councils in the east. We want to do even better. A fantastic way to make a difference quickly is to plant even more trees. But we can’t do it alone. We need the help of residents, businesses, schools and community groups. We ask everyone to get involved, so together we can make our borough even greener and become carbon neutral by 2030.
“We want to create a network of volunteers to help us create and maintain a greener and Better Colchester. Our simple message to the people of Colchester is: Love your trees and play your part in helping us green our beautiful borough. Please join us on 23 November and help our planting and our planet.”
The event on 23 November will start at 10:30am. Parking is limited at the site, so people are encouraged to walk where possible. And please don’t forget to bring a spade! People can register their interest by emailing parks@colchester.gov.uk.
Planting will continue throughout planting season until the end of March 2020. Some 20 more sites have already been identified across Colchester for the first year of planting. See the full list at: https://www.colchester.gov.uk/colchesterwoodlandproject/
If you’d like to get involved with planting at any of these sites, please contact parks@colchester.gov.uk
Page last reviewed: 14 November 2019