By Press Release
Island community groups and schools have been invited to take up an offer of free saplings to plant as part of the Woodland Trust’s conservation scheme.
Almost 9,000 schools and community groups benefited from the UK’s largest woodland conservation charity’s scheme last year with 1.3 million being given away.
Applications for trees to be delivered in spring 2023 are now open and Woodland Trust senior project lead, Vicki Baddeley, hopes even more schools and groups will take up the offer.
She said: “This year our communities have really felt the impact of climate change first hand, and many are seeing the incredible benefits trees can bring to provide much-needed shade, shelter, and help to prevent flooding.
The figures for 2022 are the Trust’s best yet, surpassing the previous best total of more than 1.1m in 2021.
Vicki added: “It’s so important to develop a love of nature because, to quote Sir David Attenborough, ‘no one will protect what they don’t care about, and no one will care about what they have never experienced.
“Aside from the satisfaction of planting new trees at this critical time, doing something positive to help combat climate change and improving the local ecosystem, it has the potential to inspire both children and adults and it’s so easy to apply.”
The Woodland Trust’s free tree packs scheme has seen trees sent far and wide this year, with the spring giveaway alone delivering a total 623,910 saplings to 3,865 organisations across the UK.
“There will be 600,000 saplings up for grabs in the spring round of applications and I have no doubt they will go quickly so I would advise any interested groups to apply sooner rather than later to secure their saplings.”
You can apply at woodlandtrust.org.uk/plant-trees/schools-and-communities/.