Annual Trees for Years event postponed

Date issued 27 January 2021

The annual Trees for Years giveaway, where Colchester Borough Council gives away free trees to residents, will be postponed until the Autumn due to national lockdown restrictions.

Usually taking place in February each year, the initiative offers residents a helping hand to green-up their gardens and the borough. Last year, the giveaway event was extended as part of the Colchester Woodland and Biodiversity Project and ten thousand native trees, shrubs and fruit bushes were given out to residents at the Job Serve Community Stadium.

This year will mark the 15^th year of the event, and plans are to give away 15,000 trees, shrubs and fruit bushes in celebration. But due to the current national lockdown restrictions and the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, plans have been put on hold until the Autumn when a new planting season will begin.

The scheme is made possible through sponsorship from idVerde, which works in partnership with the council to maintain the borough’s green spaces, and through funding from the Colchester Woodland and Biodiversity Project.

Cllr David King, Portfolio Holder for Businesses and Resources, said: “Trees for Years is always really well attended, and it’s absolutely fantastic to be able to give away more and more trees every year to residents, schools, parish councils and community groups. But the safety of our residents is of paramount importance to us and, in the present situation, running an event like this just isn’t possible right now.
 

“But we plan to be back bigger than ever in the Autumn, to kick off the next tree-planting season, giving away more trees, shrubs and fruit bushes to residents than ever before. A key part of the Woodland and Biodiversity project is to build a network of volunteers to help us create and maintain a greener borough, and Trees for Years is the perfect opportunity for us to do just that.”
 

You can keep up to date on the Colchester Woodland and Biodiversity Project at www.colchester.gov.uk/better-colchester/colchesterwoodlandbiodiversity.