Wyre Council are celebrating the tree-mendous collaborative tree planting efforts in Wyre, following the launch of the new Climate Change strategy.
After a successful free tree giveaway as part of National Tree Week, Wyre Council are holding two further giveaway events in January.
The next giveaways will be on Thursday 16 January and Sunday 19 January at Wyre Estuary Country Park from 10am until 1pm. Details on how to apply for your free tree can be found at www.wyre.gov.uk/free-tree or sign up at Wyre Free Tree Giveaway Day.
Wyre Council launched its Climate Change Strategy at the event last month, giving out almost 150 trees for residents to take home and plant. The event was a huge success and was a great way to engage residents in the positive climate action happening across Wyre.
Residents had the opportunity to look at the newly endorsed Climate Change Strategy and ask the climate change officers any questions. There were also displays about the fantastic work Wyre Council’s volunteers and Coast and Countryside team are doing, including the new Gateway project, Wyre Estuary Restoration projects progress over winter.
In addition to the free tree giveaway event, an exciting new way of creating woodland in collaboration with the local community took place in December. 800 native trees (oak , hornbeam , goat willow, elder, wild cherry and gorse) were planted at the Memorial Park in Fleetwood this month, creating a brand new Micro-wood with help from pupils from Chaucer Primary School along with some little ones from the Enchanted Forest nursery in Fleetwood.
The trees in Microwoods grow much quicker than in a traditional woodland due to the soils mimicking the conditions in a long-established woodland ecosystem. They draw in and sequester carbon at a much-increased rate and provide many benefits for ecology, wildlife and public interaction. The ground is enriched beforehand with organic matter and the little tree roots are soaked in a mychorizal solution just prior to planting into a mulch topped area. The Microwood requires maintenance for the first three growing seasons (weeding and litter picking) after which becomes self-sustaining.
The Microwood planting was in in collaboration with Lancashire County Council Treescapes Team, The Friends of Memorial Park and officers from Wyre Council. Read more about the Treescapes project here. More Micro-wood planting is planned for the Roundway site in Fleetwood in the New Year.
Councillor Simon Bridge, Street Scene, Parks and Open Spaces Portfolio Holder at Wyre Council said,
“We’re really pleased to extend the free tree giveaways and to expand our tree planting efforts through this exciting new way of ‘Micro-wood’ planting.
“This innovative and collaborative action is so important and will help us towards our goal to reduce polluting emissions across the borough and make Wyre a cleaner, greener and more sustainable place.”
Read more about the tree-planting efforts and other positive climate action across Wyre at www.wyre.gov.uk/climate-change