Trees not just for Christmas as thousands of Hertfordshire residents take part in green fingered giveaway
Thousands of green fingered Hertfordshire residents are playing their part in tackling climate change by taking up the offer of free trees from Hertfordshire’s Your Tree Our Future scheme.
Over 4,300 people arranged to collect more than 74,000 trees at twelve pick-up points across the county on Saturday 9 December. The trees are made up of species selected for their suitability for Hertfordshire’s geography and climate. Over 58,000 of them will go on to form nearly 10km of hedgerow, which has positive benefits for wildlife looking for shelter and food. It is expected that the trees could take close to 125,000 tonnes of carbon out of the atmosphere if they reach full maturity.
The giveaway has been delivered by a partnership of Hertfordshire County Council and Hertfordshire’s district and borough councils, as well as local charity Growing People. Herts FullStop provided its facilities 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 the county council hopes to deliver on its Tree and Woodland Strategy, which outlines plans to establish 1.8m new trees in Hertfordshire by 2030.
Adopted in 2022, the county council has already helped establish 213,473 trees since declaring a climate emergency. This has been achieved in part through appointing two dedicated Woodland Creation Officers, to deliver planting schemes including 600 trees at Aldenham Country Park, 1,780 at Hornbeam Wood Hedgehog Sanctuary, and 10,000 in Abbots Langley in partnership with Watford Community Housing Trust.
Councillor Eric Buckmaster, Executive Member for the Environment at Hertfordshire County Council said:
“We are thrilled that the Your Tree Our Future scheme continues to go from strength-to-strength, with an additional 27,000 trees given away this year compared to last year’s total. The fact that so many residents from across Hertfordshire have taken part in this scheme is a testament to the positive benefits of trees on the physical and mental wellbeing of our communities, as well as for our environment.”
“We have already delivered more than the 100,000 trees we planned at the start of this project and look forward to next year when we hope even more residents will take part.”
Anyone looking to take part in the Your Tree Our Future scheme can sign up to receive an email when the window re-opens in Summer 2024 at
www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/yourtree
Notes to editors:
The Your Tree Our Future scheme is in its second year, with nearly 47,000 trees delivered in the first year of the scheme on top of the 74,000 delivered this year. As well as the county council, Hertfordshire’s ten district and borough councils have contributed through extra funding, promotion, and logistical support. The scheme has also been supported by the charity Growing People and by the team at Herts Full Stop. The scheme will repeat each year for the next two years, with a minimum of 30,000 further trees available each year.
The county council’s Sustainable Hertfordshire Strategy sets out how it plans to become a more sustainable organisation while also helping to tackle the climate crisis in Hertfordshire. The key ambitions of the strategy that are supported by this project are: net zero greenhouse gas county by 2050, enhance nature across Hertfordshire’s land and water by 20% by 2050, cleaner air for all by 2030 and communities ready for future climates. Find out more about the council’s sustainability work at
www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/sustainability