By Alexander Dawson
With Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee just around the corner, City of York Council is looking to celebrate this momentous occasion by partnering with The Queen’s Green Canopy (QGC) to encourage residents in York to ‘plant a tree for the jubilee’ by providing free trees that any York resident can apply for.
500 trees are going to be for the taking courtesy of the Woodland Trust. Due to the possible demand that will result from giving away these free trees, the York Council has limited the collection to one per household on top of having to book time slots for in order to collect your tree. The registration for these free trees starts today and runs until the 14th February, with collection on the 16th February. Parking is available however it is not guaranteed as space is limited.
The trees available for collection are ‘Rowan’ and ‘Hazel’ trees. They are easily maintained and perfect for a garden setting.
The collection points are:
- Burnholme Explore Library
- Rawcliffe Country Park
- and Rowntree park
The tree planting initiative is not just to mark this celebration, the City of York council also aims to increase tree coverage across York, enhance wildlife habitats and help to address climate change through an annual ‘carbon sequestration’ (capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide) rate of 1% of the regions CO2 omissions between 2020 and 2050.
Cllr Keith Aspden, Leader of City of York Council, said:
“The tree giveaway is a brilliant opportunity for households, families and community groups to plant a tree for the jubilee and do their bit towards building a cleaner, greener York. Increasing our biodiversity and planting trees is a great way to support local wildlife and improve ‘carbon capture’ across the city, as trees absorb and store CO2 from our atmosphere.
“We have set a bold city-wide target to increase tree canopy cover in York from 10.3% to 13% by 2050. This target equates to approximately increasing York’s tree population by around 400,000 trees in total. We need residents to join with us and take action to increase York’s tree population and I hope this giveaway is a fun and inclusive way to take us in the right direction to become a net-zero carbon city by 2030.”
To find out more info, visit Climate change – City of York Council and visit Tree Giveaway – City of York Council to book your tree collection.
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