Hundreds of memorial trees planted in tribute to lives lost in pandemic

HUNDREDS of trees have been planted across North Somerset in memory of lives lost to Covid – three years after the first lockdown was announced.

The first lockdown of the pandemic was announced on March 23, 2020, when then Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered people to stay at home as the virus took its grip.

Now, three years on, more than 500 trees have been planted in public open spaces across the district as memorial spaces for those who died.

The trees have been planted in seven locations in Clevedon, Portishead, Nailsea and Westonsuper-Mare.

Every tree is a young specimen of a species native to the UK, with varieties including birch, oak, hornbeam, field maple, rowan, hazel, dogwood, crab apple and alder.

Each space features 70 trees and includes a sign paying tribute to those who were lost during the pandemic. It’s hoped that the sites may provide contemplative spaces for people to visit and remember those they’ve lost. North Somerset Council deputy leader and executive member for health Councillor Mike Bell, said: “We felt it was important to do something to act as a lasting tribute to the people we lost during the pandemic.

“We felt that a living tribute and a series of contemplative spaces would be appropriate.

“There is tremendous power in nature, and we hope that people will find comfort and peace in these spaces.

“Some people will have lost loved ones, and everyone will have been affected in some way by their experiences during the pandemic.”

Trees have been planted at Home Ground, Clevedon; Blackthorn Way, Nailsea; Battery Point in Portishead; and at Castle Batch, Plumley Park South, Maltlands and Verbena Way in Weston-superMare.