TREEVOLUTION!
CITY LEADERS URGED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE NATIONAL TRUST’S NEW PROJECT
COVENTRY could blossom under a National Trust project to plant more trees in cities across the country.
The charity has announced a plan to plant blossoming tree circles in towns and cities across England, Wales and Northern Ireland over the next five years.
London has already been chosen as the first project, followed by Newcastle, Nottingham and Plymouth, with other cities expected to be announced soon.
The scheme will help meet the Trust’s ambition to plant 20 million trees by 2030.
Conservative group leader Cllr Gary Ridley has urged Coventry council to get involved in the project to help brighten up the city centre and tackle air quality problems.
He said: “Lots of residents and visitors have told me that we need more trees in our city centre.
“They brighten the place up and make everyone feel better just by being there.
“So I do hope that the council is able to work with the National Trust on this initiative to plant blossom-trees in our city centre.
“This scheme represents an opportunity to address this longstanding issue and breathe new life into our streets and urban environ- ment at the same time. “The real ques- tion is, with a cli- mate change emergency, an air quality crisis and the imminent destruction of the greenbelt, can we afford not to do this?” Cllr Ridley raised the idea at full council last week where cabinet member for public health and sport, Cllr Kamran Caan, said he had been in touch with the Trust to consider the scheme. A council spokesman added: “Officers within the council’s Urban Forestry Team are presently looking at a number of funding opportunities from a number of agencies and will happily consider the National Trust Blossom Trees initiative and its potential contribute to achieving our ambitious tree planting targets of ‘A Tree for Every Citizen’ and towards the delivery of the developing Coventry tree Strategy.” The National Trust’s London project includes 33 UK grown trees - including cherry, plum, haw- thorn and crab apple - to represent the 33 London boroughs. Hilary Mcgrady, director gen- eral at the National Trust, said: “Our vision is for nature, beauty and history for everyone. “Our simple ambition with this project is to bring all of these elements together in the creation of green, nature-rich havens in the very heart of urban areas which are also beautiful and inspiring spaces that people can use. “Everyone needs nature and beauty. We know how important it is for people to connect with nature in their everyday lives. These spaces will enable communities to do just that. It benefits people and the environment.” Coventry City Council currently has an ambition to plant a tree for every citizen - some 360,000 – as part of the authority’s Green Space Strategy 2019-2024.