Trees with a Second Chance

Written by Julianne Pickard

This International Day of Forests (March 21st), let’s celebrate the theme of ‘Forests and Innovation’ with a project that’s giving unwanted trees a second chance. Imagine you’re clearing out your garden and come across a cluster of young trees that have sprouted within your pristine flowerbed. Instead of reaching for the pruners, a UK project has offered a unique solution to recycle those saplings!

The Shrewsbury town and Shropshire council have created a community tree nursery project, generating a supply of trees to be planted across the county. Launched in 2021, the project tackles two problems at once: reducing waste and increasing tree cover.

A study on homeowners in Lancashire found that 87% intend to severely restrict their front garden tree’s size, often to avoid any detrimental reductions to the property’s value. Rather than wasting these trees, this project encourages people to donate them to the Weeping Cross Nursery. This stops trees and shrubs from ending up in landfill and instead, saplings are carefully monitored for pests and diseases before being nurtured into healthy young trees. Each tree is also tagged, allowing donors to track their green contribution and witness its journey as it’s replanted across the county.

The project continues to run, three years later, aiming to use increased tree cover to address climate and ecological crises. Whilst the demand for nurtured trees has outstripped donations, the council plans to keep this project ongoing and requires further donations.

Shropshire council member for climate change, environment and transport, Ian Nellins, stated: “This is a simple scheme that allows people to remove the self-setters and repurpose them, instead of destroying them because they can’t be accommodated where they are.”

“This has the benefit of increasing the county’s tree stock, improving our biosecurity, as well as reducing the carbon impact twofold, firstly by reducing road miles and secondly by planting and maintaining the trees.”

The success of the Shrewsbury project highlights the potential for similar initiatives across the UK. Looking to get involved? Here are some volunteering opportunities so you can be a part of the solution:

• Forestry England Team

• Reforest Britain

• Trees for Cities

• Heart of England Forest

• Woodland Trust

  
  

And if you have your own ideas, or can’t find volunteering opportunities in your area, the International Tree Foundation provides annual grants to assist you in starting your own project. Whether for a small community garden or a larger rewilding project, anyone can apply for financial support, consultation and advice to support these vital projects.

This International Day of Forests, let’s celebrate innovation and our forests – we can all be part of the solution, contributing to a greener future one recycled tree at a time.