Chichester District Council to plant over 8,000 across the district

The District Council are turning curbsides green with its new initiative.
Pupils at Bishop Luffa School planting their free treesPupils at Bishop Luffa School planting their free trees
Pupils at Bishop Luffa School planting their free trees

The District Council's free tree initiative will distribute trees to residents, community groups, schools, landowners, and businesses.

The council’s Tree Chichester District scheme is funded by HM Treasury’s Shared Outcomes Fund and aims to test different ways to increase tree cover in rural and urban areas. As part of this scheme people were invited to apply for free trees last summer and the council received more than 100 applications.

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Successful applicants picked up or were delivered their trees in December, councillor Penny Plant, cabinet member for the environment and Chichester contract services at Chichester District Council, says: “It’s been lovely to hear from so many people telling us that they’ve been busy planting their trees. Thousands have already been planted, which is a fantastic achievement in such a short space of time, and I would like to thank everyone involved. It will take time, but once the trees grow and take shape, they will become a lasting feature in our district for generations to come.

In Selsey, 120 trees have been planted at Selsey Children’s Nursery, extending the existing wildlife corridor from the adjacent Manor Park. Tony Cullen from the nursery says: “We know how important trees are to our lives and the environment. For the children’s nursery, we wanted the trees to act as a natural screen from the sun and wind and to attract wildlife such as birds and insects. This will enhance the children’s understanding of their surroundings and we’ve seen how they react positively to being outside in nature.”

Chichester District Council plans to 'protect and enhance' the district's environment and a significant part of this is increasing tree cover. In 2020, the council produced a Climate Emergency Action Plan, which sets out a carbon reduction target of 10% year-on-year until 2025 for the Chichester District for both the council and for the whole of the district.

Councillor Plant added: “A huge amount of work has already been done and we’re working closely with West Sussex County Council and other district and borough councils to engage with residents, businesses and organisations about the ways in which we can all play our part in the fight against climate change.

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“As part of this, we have recently launched a behavioural change campaign to let residents know about the various energy efficiency measures that they can make to their own homes to save money and reduce their carbon footprint — some of these steps are small and simple, but when we all act together, they make a big difference.

For more information visit: www.chichester.gov.uk/climatechange.