Tree planting season is officially underway with 3,500 set to be planted across Plymouth this winter.
Made up of whips, maiden fruit trees and standards, most of the trees will be accessible throughout public places such as parks and open spaces, road verges, residential streets and outside housing developments.
Highlights of the planting schedule include:
- 15 standards and 8 maiden fruit trees near to the Devonport Soapbox Theatre in Devonport Park
- 12 standards and 11 maiden fruit trees in Frogmore Avenue Park
- 17 standards in Seagrave Road thanks to a partnership with Plymouth Community Homes (PCH) (17 standards)
- 450 young whips in Downhorn Park Phase 2 (6 standards, 450 whips)
- 5 standards and 100 whips at Ham Drive Nursery School
- 23 standards at Old Farm Road and Red Brick Field, thanks to a partnership with LiveWest
- 170 whips and 15 standards at Horesham Fields/Albion Oaks Rugby Football Club
Although the trees will form part of the Plymouth and South Devon Community Forest (PSDCF), which spans the city and areas of the South Hams and Dartmoor, all 3,500 will be planted inside the city boundary.
This year’s schedule of planting follows on from the 8,000 already planted across more than 100 sites since the Community Forest launched in 2020.
Councillor Tom Briars-Delve, Cabinet member for the Environment and Climate Change, said: "I'm delighted to see so many trees being planted in Plymouth this year.
"Trees are so important to the future of the city, not just for their obvious carbon retention functions but for ensuring that Plymouth remains a green city.
"I look forward to getting my hands dirty myself in planting some of these trees and counting as many as the 3,500 as I can as they go in the ground."
The planting will be made up of more than 3,000 whips, over 50 maiden fruit trees, and 350 standards.
Whips are young and slender trees, often just a few feet tall at the time of planting, you’ll be able to recognise these as they are often fit with tubular rabbit and deer guards.
A maiden is a smaller tree, usually three to five foot tall while a standard is a large tree that at the time of planting is already six to ten feet tall, having been grown in a nursery for several years, these require the most aftercare while they establish but offer instant visual impact so are the preferred choice for urban areas such as streets and parks.
Launched in September 2020, the PSDCF has facilitated the creation of over 80 hectares of new woodland throughout South Devon; that’s approx. 65,000 trees
Stretching from the South Devon coast to the rolling landscape of Dartmoor National Park, by April 2025 we aim to have planted a further 420 hectares across our project area, creating a mosaic of orchards, hedgerows, areas of natural regeneration, native broadleaf, and productive woodland.
Unlike traditional forests, the community forest won't be geographically restricted to one place. Instead, it will encompass a mix of community woodland, private woodland, on street, urban woodland, wooded habitat corridors and hedgerows.
Most of the schemes delivered across the city are requested by and codesigned with residents and community groups. If you would like to hear more about the PSDCF project, please contact PSDCF@plymouth.gov.uk, and keep an eye on PCC socials for an upcoming site request form for 24/25 tree planting in your local area.
The Plymouth and South Devon Community Forest is a partnership between Plymouth City Council, National Trust, Woodland Trust, South Hams District Council and West Devon Borough Council, and is funded through the DEFRA Nature for Climate fund.