Help SKDC to plant more trees

A call has gone out for volunteers to care for trees in a hands-on way for a better local environment around South Kesteven.

It comes as publicly accessible sites are picked to host 68 new trees as South Kesteven District Council moves to support biodiversity and increase resilience to extreme weather in the face of climate change.

This follows adoption of SKDC’s new Trees & Woodland Strategy, which encourages planting the right trees in the right place for the right reason.

The trees will go into the ground in Grantham, Stamford, Bourne and Market Deeping between December and March, thanks to specific funding to cover planting and aftercare.

Community volunteers are now being sought to help with watering, aftercare and maintenance in a flexible schedule to ensure the trees survive planting and grow to deliver benefits to communities.

Cabinet Member for the Environment, Cllr Rhys Baker, said: “No experience is needed and the only qualification is enthusiasm!

“This is a rare chance to join our community of tree care volunteers and be part of a network of neighbours making a difference. It’s a great way to connect with others who care about our environment while enjoying time outdoors.

“Community trees are more than just a part of the landscape. They’re living, growing symbols of what we can achieve together for future generations. By volunteering, people of all ages can help ensure they thrive to enhance the beauty of our parks and streets

“Most new trees fail to settle due to lack of early care, so additional volunteer support with watering and mulching will ensure they grow strong and healthy, securing the long-term benefit to everyone.”

Interested? Potential volunteers can register or ask for more information by:

• emailing climatechange@southkesteven.gov.uk
• calling us up on 01476 406080
• dropping a Private Message through Facebook www.facebook.com/southkdc
• popping into our Customer Service access points in Grantham or Bourne

Tree choices are matched to local conditions and include a mixture of native and non-native species.

Planting trees brings valuable ecosystem benefits such as providing natural habitats, limiting the impact of heatwaves, filtering pollution, contributing to flood prevention. Trees also play a positive role in everyone’s wellbeing by creating more attractive neighbourhoods.  

“As the climate changes, we need to act to ensure that future generations can continue to benefit from our trees long into the future,” said Cllr Baker.

“Our new strategy points the way to ensure we can provide tree care and maintenance, involve communities and measure the outcomes of our work, then take stock and learn what works best.”

The new initiative builds on planting during the past year thanks to funding from the Coronation Living Heritage Fund, which will meet the cost of setting up 31 small community orchards.

The planting sites were chosen because they are owned by SKDC and meet one or more of the following criteria:

• Located next to a well-used road or pedestrian route, to be visible to many residents
• New planting will complement existing tree cover and/or rewilding initiatives
• Trees will create an attractive landscape feature

Planting sites:

Meres Leisure Centre, Grantham

Fifth/Nine Avenue, Grantham

Foxglove Road, Stamford

Beaufort Drive, Bourne

Rochester Court, Bourne

Fraser Close, Market Deeping

Tattershall Drive, Market Deeping

Species to be planted:

Field maple

Silver birch

Silver birch cultivar

Hornbeam

Cornelian cherry

Turkish hazel

Hawthorn

Spindle cultivar

Sweet gum

Crab apple

Persian ironwood

Cherry plum cultivar

Cherry cultivar

Willow-leaved pear cultivar

Hungarian oak

English oak

Pin oak

Whitebeam

Wild service

Silver lime

Hybrid (disease resistant) elm

Buckthorn (shrub)

Guelder rose (shrub)

• Drought tolerant species have been chosen where possible
• An enriched mulch/compost will be added to the soil to improve the soil microbiology to make trees more resilient to drought by regulating soil temperatures and water evaporation
• Irrigation pipes will be installed around the root ball to aid effective irrigation during the establishment phase

Monitoring will be implemented to support post planting maintenance