Tree planting scheme is streets ahead

Residents who campaigned to keep their street green are celebrating after their efforts resulted in new trees being planted on Plymouth’s Burleigh Park Road.

The project, delivered by Plymouth Tree Partnership working with national green services provider, Glendale, involved dead and damaged trees being removed and replaced with young acer campestre, more commonly known as field maples.

Locals were increasingly concerned to see more and more street trees, most of which date back to the early 20th century, being felled as they became unsafe.

A group of residents contacted Plymouth Tree Partnership, a community group which works to improve tree cover in the area, and raised money to help fund the planting of new trees.

Plymouth City Council and The Big Tree plant project matched the money raised by residents and the scheme was given the go-ahead. Glendale was selected to carry out the work and worked closely with Plymouth Tree Partnership in both the planning and delivery stages.

Andrew Young, chairman at Plymouth Tree Partnership, said: “Until now, much of our tree planting has taken place in parks and schools, and this is the first street tree planting project we’ve been involved with. We hope that it will pave the way for further projects, as we estimate that around 200 trees need to be replaced each year in Plymouth just to maintain tree cover at existing levels.”

Richard Archibald, manager at Glendale, added: “Many of the forest-sized and flowering trees from the early 20th Century and post-war rebuilding in Plymouth have been lost or are approaching the ends of their lives, meaning there is a huge need for projects like this one.

“The project involved cutting through tarmac and concrete to gain access to the tree pit, allowing us to then saw through the roots of dead trees in order to remove them before we could plant the new, healthy trees. The acer campestre was selected because of its suitability in hard surfaces and narrow streets, but the challenge now will be getting the trees established and growing well.”

To help care for the trees, some residents have also volunteered as tree wardens with the Plymouth Tree Partnership.

The Plymouth Tree Partnership works to promote trees as a key feature in public spaces, and supports groups and individuals to plant and care for new trees, while Glendale is the largest provider of green services in the UK.