Tree giveaway success continues to grow

Residents flocked to the South Ribble Borough Council tree giveaways held at Worden Park and Withy Grove Park, to pick up a free tree or hedging. 

Councillor Mick Titherington, Deputy Leader of South Ribble Borough Council said "It is fantastic to see so many people attending the events and wanting to get involved in tree planting. Residents are contributing towards the target of 110k trees being planted in South Ribble by 2025 and ultimately the fight against climate change. We are well on our way to achieving the tree planting target with the help of residents, partners, community groups and schools, as well as the areas where we have been planting across the Borough." 

The events were held on Saturday 15 January and Saturday 22 January giving away hundreds of broad-leaf trees including Birch, Crab Apple, Rowan, plus thousands mixed species whips for hedging or woodland planting. With these, came planting and maintenance advice from the team at South Ribble Borough Council. 

After declaring a climate emergency in 2019, South Ribble Borough Council set a target of 110k trees being planted in South Ribble by 2025. Since then, almost 90k have been planted, with the Council hoping to reach their target ahead of schedule. 

The Council themselves will be doing a significant amount of planting in the coming months in areas such as St Catherine's Park, Lostock Hall, Hurst Grange Park and at land off Croston Road, Leyland. They recently provided around 4500 trees to South Ribble primary schools as part of the Queen's Green Canopy scheme - which encourages people to 'Plant a tree for the Jubilee' 

Councillor Titherington continued: "The fight against climate change isn't just about tree planting. As part of the Climate Emergency Action plan, we have recently audited our own estates leading to installation of further solar panels, LED lighting and a new building management system (to improve energy efficiency) at the Leyland Civic Centre. We have also enhanced the electric vehicle charging infrastructure across the Borough and are working towards improving energy efficiency in homes." 

The South Ribble Borough Council Climate Emergency Strategy and Action Plan can be viewed online at southribble.gov.uk/ClimateChangeEmergency