£183,000 mission to plant trees across Sheffield gets under way

A £183,000 project to plant trees across Sheffield has begun.
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The first of the new trees was planted at Carter Knowle Park yesterday, by officers from Sheffield Parks and Countryside’s newly expanded forestry team, celebrating the start of two years of community tree planting activities planned to increase tree and woodland cover in the city.

Local councillors and residents joined the forestry team to plant the Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus). The tree will help provide a home for wildlife and contribute to the native tree cover in the area.

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The project is part of the council’s goal to plant 100,000 trees across the city in 10 years.

This tree planted at Carter Knowle Park marks the start of a £183,000 community planting project in Sheffield.This tree planted at Carter Knowle Park marks the start of a £183,000 community planting project in Sheffield.
This tree planted at Carter Knowle Park marks the start of a £183,000 community planting project in Sheffield.
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The forestry team recruited four new officers recently thanks in part to support from the Woodland Trust’s Emergency Tree Fund project, Treevitalise, which will see trees planted across Sheffield and beyond.

The council said that trees offer many benefits, from providing homes for wildlife to absorbing carbon from the air and even improving our mental health, but the right trees must be planted in the right locations to ensure the maximum gain for everyone, which is what the project seeks to do.

Following a successful bid between Sheffield City Council and The Woodland Trust, £183,000 was awarded over the next two years and the council was able to recruit four new officers.

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The team now has one community forestry manager, four officers, and we are also working in partnership with the Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust and the Sheffield City Region to support three urban forest trainees.

In the next two years the team will be working with communities and schools on woodland creation projects, community orchards and will run tree focused events around Sheffield. The planting at Carter Knowle was the first of these new forestry activities and further planting events will be carried out, with local people and partners across the city.

Councillor Alison Teal, Executive Member for Parks, Wellbeing and Leisure at Sheffield City Council, said: “Our trees are our finest assets, supporting our wildlife and biodiversity, our health and wellbeing, and protecting us from the effects of climate change.

“As one of the greenest cities in Europe, wherever you are in this city you’re never far from a tree and we have ambitions to increase that even more, investing in our tree stock now so that we have a rich and diverse tree population in the future.

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“We’re really grateful for the partnership work and support we’ve had from the Woodland Trust. As a result of that it’s fantastic to see our new forestry officers, who bring a wealth of expertise to the service, beginning this brilliant work out in our communities. I can’t wait to see more local people getting involved in our projects over the next two years.”

As part of the council’s Trees & Woodlands strategy 2018-2033, the city’s target is to plant 100,000 trees over a 10-year period.

Details of further tree planting events in areas across the city will be shared with local communities, Friends Groups and partners as and when these are organised.