South Woodham Ferrers plants over 1,000 trees in a single day

On Sunday 2 February, a hundred people got digging for climate victory in a mass tree planting at Creekview Road, South Woodham Ferrers.

Local families and residents joined staff from Chelmsford City Council to plant over a thousand trees on a plot of land in the area’s well-loved Compass Gardens park.

Native species, including holly, oak and alder, were used to create the new woodland, which is approximately 700 metres square.

Councillor Rose Moore, Deputy Cabinet Member for Recycling and Ecology, joined the tree-planting effort. She said, “Putting the ‘wood’ back into South Woodham Ferrers is a big step towards a greener Chelmsford. With the help of local residents, we have planted far more trees here than our regular staff would ever be able to do in a single day.

“Recent research shows that just one tree, by the time it’s fully grown, can absorb seven tonnes of carbon. The average person currently generates that in a year, so tree planting isn’t the whole answer, but it is certainly going to make a difference to the environmental impact of human activity in this area.”

The trees are all under two feet high, known as whips. They are protected by temporary fencing, which will be dismantled once they are big enough to survive on their own. As the years go by, some of them will naturally thin out and supporting plants will grow around them to form a new woodland for all to enjoy.

This planting brings the total number of trees planted with volunteers’ help this winter to almost 9,000. Overall, the Council has pledged to plant a tree for every resident of Chelmsford over the next ten years.

Hundreds have already signed up for the next Big Community Planting Day at Hylands Park on Sunday 1 March, 10am – 1pm. Everyone is welcome, including accompanied children, and you can come along for as long as you like. The meeting point is the car park at the Writtle Road entrance to Hylands Estate. For more information, please email Love Your Chelmsford at [email protected].

If you’d like to find out more about environmental volunteering and other events, follow @LoveYourChelmsford on Facebook or sign up to the Council’s News mailing list at www.chelmsford.gov.uk/mailinglist.

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