The Right Tree in the Right Place
Trees are amazing! They are fundamental to our countryside, let alone life on earth.
Trees absorb billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide, are home to hundreds of invertebrates and mammals, provide massive health and wellbeing benefits, and much, much more!
Planting more trees is going to be a vital solution to help combat climate change and reverse the decline in nature. However, equally important is planting the right tree in the right place. If planted wrong, some trees can actually do more harm than good, such as damaging property or destroying delicate ecosystems such as wetlands. Always take advice before deciding to plant a tree.
Supporting tree planting
The Council is very keen to support tree planting in the district, and we played an active part in the recent Queen’s Green Canopy, a unique tree planting initiative created to mark Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee. It invited people from across the United Kingdom to “Plant a Tree for the Jubilee”. It was extended to March 2023 to give people the opportunity to plant trees in memoriam to honour Her Majesty.
Our Jubilee Celebrations in East Cambridgeshire started with the planting of an official Platinum Jubilee Tree in Brinkley. School children from Brinkley helped the then Council Chairman, Councillor Alan Sharp, and Leader of the Council, Councillor Anna Bailey, plant the beech tree in Beech Croft.
You can read the press release here: School children help council plant Jubilee Tree in Brinkley
Planting Community Orchards
Throughout 2022 and 2023 we have been working with local community groups to support the planting of 28 community orchards throughout East Cambridgeshire, such as the one planted in the grounds of Rackham Primary School in Witchford. You can find out more information, as well as the location of other tree planting initiatives here: Community Orchards in the District.
Council tree planting
Every year, we plant more and more trees on our own land, such as our parks and open spaces. We also look after and manage existing trees, to make sure they are safe and thriving, We are going to set out on this webpage more details of our planting programme, so you can see for yourself where we have planted and where intend to plant next.