Over 4,000 people have taken up the offer of free trees as part of the 'Your Tree Our Future' scheme, which will see a minimum of 100,000 trees given away over the next four years across the county...
On Saturday 3 December 46,000 trees were collected across the county, with 4,000 trees handed out in Watford, as residents from across Hertfordshire took up the offer of free trees. It is estimated that these trees could remove 77,000 tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere over their lifetime.
The giveaway has been delivered by a partnership of the county council and Hertfordshire’s district and borough councils, as well as local charity Growing People. Herts FullStop provided its facilities, workforce and logistical expertise to help prepare and deliver the trees to the relevant pick-up points across the county.
The tree giveaway is just one of the ways to deliver both Watford Borough Council's and Hertfordshire County Council's respective Tree and Woodland Strategy, which outlines plans to establish 20,000 trees over the next four years in Watford and plant 1.8m new trees in Hertfordshire by 2030.
Working with partners across the county will be key in delivering this ambitious figure. Hertfordshire County Council have recently successfully bid for £78,983 on behalf of district and borough councils from the Local Authority Treescape fund. This funding will allow for a further 6,688 trees to be planted across the county this winter.
In addition, further funding from the Government’s Woodland Creation Accelerator Fund will allow the council to hire two new members of staff to provide support and work in partnership with others to deliver tree, hedgerow, and woodland planting between spring 2023 and 2025
Whilst the order-window to claim your free trees is now closed, you can apply via the respective council waiting lists at hertfordshire.gov.uk/yourtree and www.watford.gov.uk/treeplanting
Elected Mayor of Watford, Peter Taylor, said: "I’m delighted that working with Hertfordshire County Council we were able to give away 4,000 trees, and that residents were able to get more involved with making Watford a greener place to live.
"These new trees won’t just be in our award-winning parks, woodlands and open spaces but also on local streets, making sure that neighbourhoods across Watford will benefit."
"When I was elected I set a goal of planting 20,000 trees over the next four years. This tree giveaway was a massive step towards that goal, as well as our goal to be carbon net zero by 2030.”
