BCP Council will be planting over 10,000 trees across the conurbation this year to help combat the climate and ecological emergency, with the latest bid for 1,600 new trees to be planted in the first few months of 2021 approved at Cabinet at the end of last year.
In November 2020, the Council received funding through the Forestry Commission’s Urban Tree Challenge Fund, to plant 4,790 trees in urban areas across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole. These native trees will provide benefits such as natural traffic noise and pollution buffers alongside wildlife refuges. Planting is taking place throughout the winter on sites including Stourvale Estate, Littledown Valley, Waterman’s Park, Hatchard’s Field, Sterte Esplanade and Bearwood Open Spaces.
This latest bid approved by cabinet will see the creation of a hectare of woodland at Iford Meadows as part of the council’s commitment to its Cleaner, Greener, Safer campaign which aims to improve the pride in our place after a year of significant challenges.
An additional 4,000 trees are being planted in North Bournemouth including the reinstatement planting of lost hedgerows at Hicks Farm.
Councillor Mark Anderson, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Environment, Cleansing & Waste commented:
“I am delighted that the council has committed to planting so many trees around our conurbation. Trees are vital to our ecosystem. They help to combat climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen back into the air, so this tree planting programme plays an important part in our sustainable environment objective to tackle the climate and ecological emergency we’re all facing.
“Trees can also have a positive impact on our wellbeing, helping us to feel a sense of calm in our lives and keeping us connected to nature, which has never been more important after the year we’ve all had. Our cleaner, greener, safer campaign is addressing the issues that really matter to bring back a sense of pride to our area and the creation of a new woodland is just one of many initiatives that are planned over the next few months to enable this to happen.”
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