Planting dates for the third year of the Colchester Woodland and Biodiversity Project were announced at Colchester’s Eco Festival, on Saturday 4 September, with fifteen public planting events scheduled to take place from November 2021.
Colchester Borough Council is inviting people to register to join them at several locations across the borough, to help plant trees during the 2021/22 planting season starting in November, as part of the Colchester Woodland and Biodiversity Project.
Since its launch in 2019, the project has seen over 28,000 trees planted across the borough and despite the record-breaking dry and spring and summer in 2020, the majority of these are established and flourishing. The project has also seen the mowing regime changed in several areas to support biodiversity, a commitment to the reduction of Glyphosate-based weed killer, and encouraging residents and organisations to take part in seed-gathering activity and to grow their own trees for the future.
The following public planting events are now open for the public to sign up to come along and help plant trees, by registering via the website. Once registered, people will be contacted with information about the day and everything they will need to know to get planting.
| Date | Location |
| Saturday 27 November 2021 | Kings Head Meadow |
| Wednesday 1 December 2021 | Kings Head Meadow |
| Saturday 4 December 2021 | Magnolia Drive Open Space |
| Wednesday 8 December 2021 | Magnolia Drive Open Space |
| Saturday 11 December 2021 | St John’s Open Space |
| Wednesday 15 December 2021 | St John’s Open Space |
| Saturday 8 January 2022 | Wheatfield Road Open Space |
| Wednesday 12 January 2022 | Community Orchard – Colchester Cemetery |
| Saturday 15 January 2022 | Great Horkesley Jubilee Green |
| Wednesday 19 January 2022 | Great Horkesley Jubilee Green |
| Saturday 22 January 2022 | Speedwell Road Open Space |
| Saturday 29 January 2022 | Queen Elizabeth Way Open Space |
| Wednesday 2 February 2022 | Queen Elizabeth Way Open Space |
| Saturday 5 February 2022 | Salary Brook Greenstead |
| Saturday 12 February 2022 | Henrietta Close Open Space |
Areas for planting have been agreed with local ward councillors and the Woodland Trust, who supply the trees to be planted. Signs will soon be placed at planting sites, giving residents contact details to find out more about the planned planting events. The council will also launch a form via its website where residents can submit ideas for areas to plant trees in future years of the project.
All the planting days under the project are supported by Together We Grow CIC, a not-for-profit Social Enterprise improving the lives of communities and individuals through encouraging engagement with nature, which is based at the beautiful Big Garden in High Woods Country Park. As well as supplying trees, the Woodland Trust is also providing biodegradable rabbit guards to help protect each specimen without the risk of contaminating the environment with plastic debris.
Cllr Simon Crow, Portfolio Holder for Businesses and Resources, said: “The Colchester Woodland and Biodiversity Project is committed to preserving trees, helping them to grow and planting more each year across our green spaces. We aim to do this in consultation with partners, councillors, and residents, ensuring we continue to focus on wider biodiversity, such as wildflowers and the needs of insects, as we plant.
“We were unable to open up tree planting events to the public last year, due to Covid restrictions, so this year we want businesses, residents, community groups and schools to get involved in every aspect of the project, including joining us as we plant trees across the borough. Our hope is to build a voluntary network to help plant and maintain the trees for a greener future, too.”
The council has also recently launched a Tree Guardian campaign, after discovering several residents have taken it upon themselves to look after newly-planted trees in their local area, with the aim of developing greener places by caring for new areas of woodland as they grow. The council is looking for more people to become Tree Guardians and take pride in their local green spaces. Tree Guardians can be individuals or groups of up to 10 people, including family members or friends. You can pledge to do as little as 15 minutes a week or more if you prefer. The council will provide you all the necessary equipment, including bamboo canes, tree guards and a wooden mallet. To register your interest email: parks@colchester.gov.uk.
To keep up to date with the project, find out more about becoming a tree guardian and to register for one of the planting sessions visit https://www.colchester.gov.uk/better-colchester/colchesterwoodlandbiodiversity/.
Page last reviewed: 23 September 2021