MONEY may not grow on trees but cash is going to help plant them in Warwickshire.
To coincide with National Tree Week 2023 – the UK’s largest annual tree celebration – Warwickshire County Council has secured funding which will support tree planting initiatives across the county.
The Forestry Commission has awarded WCC almost £295,000 under Round 3 of the Local Authority Treescapes Fund. Between 2023 and 2028, this fund will cover the planting of approximately 990 new native trees.
The Forestry Commission has also awarded the council around £365,000 from their Urban Tree Challenge Fund. This grant will fund the planting of around 550 standard-sized trees across 25 urban locations, focusing on areas with higher levels of deprivation and lower tree canopy cover.
Finally, in collaboration with the five local district and borough councils, WCC has secured funding from Defra’s Coronation Living Heritage Fund for further tree planting initiatives which will include £47,500 for approximately four micro wood sites and £205,000 to be given to local community groups for them to establish community orchards in their areas.
WCC will hold and administer the funds on behalf of the consortium and are currently seeking expressions of interest from community and voluntary groups who might wish to be a host location for either a micro wood or a community orchard. Anyone interested should contact [email protected]
WCC’s environment spokesperson Coun Heather Timms said: “We welcome this new funding from a variety of sources, which will allow us to plant more trees to reduce and mitigate carbon emissions and increase the county’s biodiversity through the creation of new habitats for wildlife.
“We are particularly excited to be able to offer community powered tree planting initiatives through the Micro Woods and Community Orchards projects and hope that community and voluntary organisations across the county will help us to make these a reality over the coming years.”
