Tree project blossoms as community plants thousands

More than 40,000 trees have been planted in Wokingham Borough since November 2021 as part of the council's ongoing efforts to protect and improve the local environment.

Along with new orchards and hedgerows, as well as land management schemes, this has helped to address the climate emergency by offsetting an estimated 6,036 tonnes of carbon emissions.

And there are more green benefits in the pipeline as the council turns its hand to the next phase, which involves several larger sites coming forward in the next planting season.

Huge support for free tree giveaway

Of the 40,242 trees planted so far, a total of 4,332 were given free of charge to residents during the last season between November 2022 and March 2023.

This was part of the council's Garden Forest Scheme, kindly supported by a £300,000 contribution towards planting in the borough from the Woodland Trust’s Emergency Tree Fund.

Some 1,492 residents took part and were given advice on caring for the saplings, consisting of five native species.

The rest of the planting was on sites owned by private landowners (about 10,000 trees) and civic organisations like schools and parish councils as well as the borough council (about 26,000).

It was carried out in partnership with volunteers, including community groups or friends associations.

Working together to harvest the rewards

Cllr Ian Shenton, executive member for environment, sport and leisure, said: "I want to thank everyone who helped us reach this milestone, from those within the council to the wider community.

"Trees provide a solid foundation for a huge range of benefits, from cleaning the air and fighting the climate emergency to making their surroundings more pleasant and giving wildlife a home.

"Increasing tree cover is key to our borough's long-term vitality and improving the environment, and they have a positive effect on the landscape as soon as they are planted. There’s plenty more to achieve but we'll get there and we can't wait to start the next stage".

Giving the green light to new green spaces

Looking ahead, the council is planning more planting on "large scale" sites bigger than five hectares.

These include proposals for a new woodland on part of Rooks Nest Farm in Finchampstead to honour those who were lost during the coronavirus pandemic.

The upfront cost of the scheme, comprising about 6,600 trees and wildflower seeding on a 7.7-hectare plot, would also be funded by the Woodland Trust’s contribution and would be offset by benefits like increased usage of the neighbouring café at California Country Park.

It was approved by the council's decision-making executive in March and more on the next steps will be announced soon.

Additionally, the council is about to publish a Tree Strategy to clearly set out how trees and hedgerows are cared for and new ones planted.

We’re helping nature to help us

The council has pledged to do all it can to make the borough a net-zero carbon producer by 2030 and is pursuing a range of schemes to achieve this.

It aims to substantially increase new woodland, hedgerows and orchards, alongside measures like promoting sustainable travel or helping reduce energy usage.

As well as absorbing carbon and pollutants in the atmosphere, trees make their surroundings more resilient to flooding by soaking up surface water.

They provide habitats for many species, improving biodiversity, and improve people's health by offering the opportunity to spend time in nature.