The first to collect free trees and hedging plants in Lincolnshire County Council’s latest tree giveaway was Charlie Brunton of Long Bennington near Grantham who intends to use them to form a spinney.
He said: “I’ve got a lot of wildlife all around where I live, and doing this is such a positive way to encourage what’s there and hopefully attract even more.
“I saw the offer and thought it was a very good idea. It’s great to see something positive like this about planting trees and hedgerows. This pack will go into a field where I have stables, the hedging there is established but there are some gaps, so I plan to use these plants to fill in where needed and extend the planting a bit further along.”
The tree giveaway is intended to boost the county’s tree cover, which at 4% lags behind the national average of 13%. Following the free tree team-up between Lincolnshire County Council and the Woodland Trust as part of National Tree Week last November, the latest giveaway of greenery saw 6,000 trees given away to be planted in the county. Each pack contains 50 trees and 250 hedging plants.
Lincolnshire County Cllr Tom Ashton was on hand to help with handing out tree care information, kits and the plants themselves. He said: “Trees and hedgerows are such a vitally important part of our natural landscape. The multifunctional benefits of planting trees and hedges are obvious, improving the wellbeing of wildlife, overall health of the countryside and positively impacting people who live in it and enjoy it.
“In working with our partners, I am thrilled that LCC can be such a positive force to help promote tree and hedgerow planting in Lincolnshire. This will have a lasting legacy for years to come.”
Harriet Winspear, Natural Environment Project officer at Lincolnshire County Council said: “Our previous tree and hedgerow giveaways were a real success with high demand, and this is a continuation of those efforts. It’s great to see more planting packs going to residents who want to do some real environmental good in the county.”
