Tree Planting Events in March

Posted on 07/02/2012 by Sue Griffith.

All events are at 10.30am unless stated:

Thursday March 1st, Glebe Farm, Shard End - B34 6HU: lots of help needed as 1,000 saplings to plant!
Thursday March 8th, Bromwich Wood, Bartley Green - south of B32 4BS, saplings.
Saturday March 17th, Rectory Park, Sutton Coldfield - B75 7RS note sponsored trees only; see 'Sponsor a Tree' section for details.
Wednesday March 21st, Bournville Valley Parkway - B30 1UL.
Sutton Park Memorial Plantings - phone Rangers on 0121 354 4074 for further details.

Tree Planting Events in February

Posted on 07/02/2012 by Sue Griffith.

Don't let the cold weather put you off - come and plant some trees! Of course we will not plant if its snowing, but the frost is only an inch or two deep and we always prepare the ground for you before planting events. Spades are provided, wear stout shoes and bring gloves.  All events are at 10.30am unless stated:

Wednesday 1st February - Farm Park, Sparkbrook B11 1JZ (done, see report)
Thursday 2nd - Hamstead Playing Fields, Perry Barr B42 1NJ (done, see report)
Wednesday 8th, Fox Hollies Park, Acocks Green - B27 Gospel Lane end
Thursday 9th, Foundry Road, Winson Green - B18 4LP, large trees and saplings
Tuesday 14th, Wendover Green Link, Perry Common B23 5DD - 1.30pm, large trees
Wednesday 23rd, Sparkhill Park, B11 4EA, large trees
Wednesday 29th, Glover Rd, Falcon Lodge, Sutton B75 7RH, large trees

We will also be planting lots of sites in March - see above.
We can't plant from April onwards as the trees start to grow and don't like being moved.

Willows at Hamstead

Posted on 03/02/2012 by Sue Griffith.

New willows were planted on the opposite side of the River Tame from old willow trees on Thursday morning. The trees were superb specimens and quite large, but the children from Cherry Orchard Primary School were impressed that they could grow in time to be as large as those on the opposite bank. 

    The Tame valley is an significant wildlife corridor from the           nature reserve at Sandwell Valley in the north, into the heart       of the City.  Enhancing this green corridor is therefore very       important. The local councillors have recently encouraged         the provision of seating along the walkway, so the trees             added to the open space improvements. Half of the willows       are the more usual scarlet willow and cuttings were given to       the children to take back to school to grow as part of their         biology class. These children won the unofficial prize for               walking the most distance from school to park - about a mile     in the freezing cold (we did check first that this was ok, but         the teachers assured us that it was!).

A total of ten willows were planted and we are working with the local parks staff and elected members to select more planting sites along this corridor for future planting.
All three of the ward elected members came to the event and helped with the planting.

With thanks to the Council's Woodland Management Team for all their hard spade work (literally) and to the local Park Ranger.

Frosty Farm Park

Posted on 01/02/2012 by Sue Griffith.

Children from Montgomery Primary School walked to Farm Park in the freezing cold on the 1st February and planted 10 trees without one word of complaint. A variety of ages represented the School Council and their Forest School Group, so many of them were used to using spades and knew lots about trees.

                                                                      For photographs of the event, click here.

       Farm Park is a very historic park and the trees were planted to                restore avenues, in keeping with its character. In July 2005, the              Birmingham tornado ripped through the park, destroying trees.              Since then many have been replaced, but still some avenues look          bare. We planted 5 small leaved limes and 5 elms. Most elms in the          UK died years ago from Dutch Elm Disease, but now disease                  resistant trees have been bred, so its time to reintroduce them to          our parks. 

The children had adults to help; two teachers, representatives from Sparkbrook Neighbourhood Forum, a local City Councillor, the park keeper, BTFL, Council parks staff and the park contractors all made sure that the younger ones all got a share in the action, without having to do the hard work of lifting trees or digging holes. All the children went away smiling with 'goodie bags' about trees.

The trees including their planting and aftercare, have been funded from the Government's 'Big Tree Plant' grant scheme. BTFL successfully applied for funds to plant 14 sites across the City this winter.

Big Tree Plant Launch Event at Colebourne Meadows

Posted on 05/12/2011 by Sue Griffith.

We officially launched our 'Big Tree Plant' planting season on 2nd December at a site within the Kingfisher Country Park at Colebourne Meadows, Stechford.  The Lord Mayor, Cllr Anita Ward (who represents this ward) was present and local school children from Colebourne J&I School  planted sapling trees to enhance a nature area that they use for study (and fun). 

Photographs of the very successful event can be seen by clicking here.

Over 50 children joined us for a brilliant morning of digging - many of the 1000 saplings available for the site near the river were planted by the children, who showed great enthusiasm and energy.  Helped by a number of adults from the Friends of Kingfisher Country Park and local Ranger service, BTFL staff and Committee members, City Council staff and even a representative from the Forestry Commission, the young planters really got stuck in to the task.  The saplings were used to enhance 3 different areas of the river walkway - the nature area close to the school, bulking up a hedge, and some were allocated to restoring a hedge along the road.  3 more mature trees were also planted.  

 The Big Tree Plant is the Government's national tree planting campaign which aims to help community groups plant a million trees across Britain over 5 years.

Ten Red Oaks Planted at Small Heath Park

Posted on 01/12/2011 by Sue Griffith.

After a very wet night, the sun shone on 10 pupils from Small Heath School's Eco Committee as they planted 10 Red Oaks on Thursday 1st December in Small Heath Park as part of National Tree Week. The park is located in an intensely urban area and is very well used. Pupils from the school cross it daily on their journey to school.

To see photographs of the event click here.

Small Heath Community Forum and the Friends          of the park also came along to help, as they are          very proud of their park which is one of the            oldest in Birmingham.

The community asked for trees with good autumn  colour and the Red Oaks have large leaves,          bigger than the Common Oak, which will look  wonderful. For more information on this beautiful    tree  click here.

        One of the local City Councillors came               along and was involved in planting bulbs in         the holes dug for the trees by the park             contractors. These should flower in the             spring and remind the pupils of their                 planting day in the winter sunshine.

        In addition several police officers and                 community support officers from the                 South Yardley team came and got their             boots dirty, ensuring the trees were well           firmed in. They will help to keep an eye on         them when they are in the park. Thanks           also go to City Council Parks staff.

This event was part of BTFL's tree planting campaign across the City, funded by the governments' programme The Big Tree Plant. 

The land for Small Heath Park was gifted to the city in 1876 by the philanthropic Louisa Ryland, whose other gifts included Cannon Hill Park in 1873.

Planting Event at Handsworth Park

Posted on 29/11/2011 by Sue Griffith.

Twelve wonderful trees were planted in one of the City's premier parks on Tuesday 29th November by 14 pupils from Handsworth Wood Girls School, helped by BTFL organisers, Parks staff and contractors.

                                                                               Lots of photographs of the event can be seen by         clicking here.

    The trees will form part of a new Tree Trail to be             produced for the park in the summer. Unusual               types of oak and beech were planted to add to the       variety of trees in the park. Other trees with                   interesting leaves were also planted.

    Two of the trees were particularly suited to wet             areas, so they were planted near the pool.

Our thanks go to the contractors who did the hard work of digging the holes in the hard ground, but there was plenty of work for the girls to do and they were very enthusiastic.

BTFL organisers, Rangers and the Park Keeper made sure their enthusiasm was harnessed safely.

Our Schools Liaison Officer had walked with them and the teachers from the school and on the way they discussed the importance of trees. They took away with them the tree species identification labels so that they could look them up on the internet and see what the trees will look like in the summer. Pupils were also given a "goodie bag" of information about trees.

             A local City Councillor also came along to help, as did      a representative from the cricket club in the park. As      we were planting, several users of the park said how      pleased they were to see trees being planted.

   The trees, their planting and maintenance is funded        by the governments Big Tree Plant programme. Our      thanks also go to Barcham Trees, our supplier, who      donated two trees as part of their committment to        The Big Tree Plant.

Handsworth Park occupies over 63 acres. It was largely created in two parts, the first opened on June 20 1888, the second added in 1895. It was designed by nurseryman and landscape designer Richard Hartland Vertegens and has Grade II listed status, reflecting its importance as a fine example of a 19th century urban park. It was extensively restored about 8 years ago - for more information click here.

Successful First Planting Event this Season at Short Heath Park, Erdington

Posted on 23/11/2011 by Sue Griffith.

Ten enthusiastic pupils from Court Farm Primary School got the BTFL Big Tree Plant programme off to a fine start on the morning of Tuesday 22nd November. Not only did they help plant the 10 large trees, but they added a time capsule into the tree pit of one of the finest trees.

For lots of photographs of the event please click here.

                Contractors did the hard work of digging the                  large holes, but extra digging was done by                    the three local Elected Members                                    who came along to help out and the                              Woodland Team/Ranger Service. Local                          Friends of the park were delighted to see the                  new trees being planted. BTFL                                        people made sure everyone was in the right                  place at the right time and the Rangers                          ensured that our nice new spades                                  were used appropriately. The children                            obviously enjoyed themselves - they each                    had a 'goodie bag' to take away, including a                  badge "I've planted a tree in Birmingham"                                                                                                 and information about trees.

Our thanks go to the teachers for supporting their involvement and to our tree supplier for such magnificent trees.

The trees and their planting and maintenance are funded by the Government from the new Big Tree Plant grant programme.

Orchards and Apples

Posted on 12/10/2011 by Sue Griffith.

Last weekend I went to a celebration of apples and orchards in Herefordshire called "The Big Apple". This is held every autumn and also at blossom time. The Marcher Apple Network provide an identification service for ordinary garden apples, and for the not so ordinary..........click here for more info. Believe it or not, there are many varieties apples with bizarre names like 'Tom Putt' and 'Pitmaston Pineapple' that were grown in Victorian times, but can still be seen today at displays such as the Big Apple. They are grown  in conservation orchards in the Wye Valley.

BBC 'Countryfile' features the national collection of apples at Brogdale, Kent (click here) each year, but we in the Midlands and Welsh Marches have a great apple tradition.

So what's this got to do with Birmingham? Well at one time the City was surrounded by vegetable gardens and orchards and many old houses had orchards too. There are still old orchards within the City and BTFL are interested in conserving them and planting new community orchards. 

In one old orchard, BTFL have been helping to identify old apple trees, because we think it is an important part of the City's heritage that could easily be lost.

Here are some of the apples that we found.  We have been  helping to ensure that the trees are pruned properly and  labelled so that their importance is recorded.

There is an Apple Celebration Event at Lickey Hills Country Park Visitor Centre on Saturday 22nd October at 10am if you would like to know more about orchards and apples. Click here for info on the Visitor Centre.

Barcham Trees

Posted on 10/10/2011 by Sue Griffith.

Last year we planted just over 200 "standard" trees. So where do we get them from?
We buy them through the City Council, who have a preferred supplier, who won a competitive tendering process - Barcham Trees. Last week some members of the Trees Committee went to visit Barcham's tree nursery in Ely, north of Cambridge to understand more about how the trees are grown and to look at species of trees that we will be planting this winter. For Barchams web site click here.

All the trees that we buy from Barcham are grown in the UK, none are imported from Holland. (It was disappointing that the trees for William and Katherine's wedding in Westminster Abbey were imported.)

They are grown in a special bag system that means they are more easily transported and planted into our parks. Barcham have undertaken a huge amount of research to find out what makes trees grow well and what keeps them healthy.

Barcham are giving lots of advice to organisations who are involved in the government's Big Tree Plant Campaign.  In addition they are working with others to write a new British standard for planting and caring for trees. Click here for more information.

Calling all teachers! Involve your class in tree planting

Posted on 24/09/2011 by Jane Edwards.

Calling all Teachers.................Are you a school teacher in the Birmingham area reading this blog? Wouldn't it be good to get your pupils out of the classrooom for a couple of hours, at no cost to your school? We are planning a series of tree planting projects in public parks all over the City between  December 2011 and March 2012.

We are experienced in organising tree planting events and at each site, City Council parks officers and rangers are present to explain to children how to plant trees and use spades safely.

We will explain to you exactly what is involved before the event and you will be given a teachers' pack with information about trees. Every child will receive a "goodie bag" with a tree identification guide and activity sheets together with a certificate. We give these bags to you to distribute after the event so that they don't get dropped on site!

Have a look at the "Past Projects" part of this website to see photographs of successful previous events. 

We welcome enquiries from all schools and work with pupils of all ages and abilities.

Maybe we are planting in your area? Contact us now by email or click here.