Tree planting begins at Colby Playing Field this weekend as part of Colby & Banningham Parish Council’s support for North Norfolk District Council’s (NNDC) ambition to plant 110,000 trees – one for every person in North Norfolk – over the next four years.
A total of 500 trees are being planted at the playing field on Bridge Road, Colby. The parish council, which maintains the land, has taken the opportunity to get involved in NNDC’s new initiative, to help make the playing field more attractive for residents to enjoy. The planting follows on from work by local wildlife group, Wild About Colby, who developed a small copse at one end of the field in recent years.
The new trees are a mix of native species chosen to suit the soil conditions in the area, including oak, rowan, gorse, broom, silver birch, hazel, field maple, goat willow and dog rose. Advice has been sought from Dr Colin Studholme, an expert in environmental science who has worked on similar schemes elsewhere, to help choose the best possible trees for biodiversity, to improve the parish landscape and contribute to NNDC’s climate change initiative.
The Colby tree planting events, which are open to all to attend, are taking place from 11am on Saturday 15 and Saturday 22 February. For more details, see the Colby & Banningham Parish Council website or Facebook and Twitter pages.
Mo Anderson-Dungar, parish clerk at Colby and Banningham Parish Council, said: “We are pleased to be holding these two tree planting events which will enable us to further improve the playing field site for the benefit of all local residents. At the same time, we’re delighted to be supporting NNDC’s initiative by planting one tree for everyone living here in our parish.”
Councillor Nigel Lloyd, NNDC’s Portfolio Holder for Environment, said: “We are delighted to see Colby and Banningham getting involved with our scheme and using it as an opportunity to complement their existing work on the playing field. These 500 trees all count towards our ambitious goal to plant 110,000. We welcome all support and ideas and would love to hear from other villages and groups who are interested in taking part, whether it’s to plant one tree, 500 or more.”
To support its four-year tree planting ambition, NNDC is partnering with the Woodland Trust as its main supplier of trees. It is encouraging individuals, as well as local schools, groups and businesses, to get involved with the campaign which is part of its journey to becoming a carbon neutral council by 2030. For more information and details of how to get involved, visit: https://www.north-norfolk.gov.uk/trees