How you can help……
There are many ways that you an help us promote the importance of trees in the City of Birmingham and as a result of raising awareness, increase the amount of money available to plant more trees. You can get involved in events by sponsorship, by helping to organise them, by just being there or by getting your hands dirty!
• By coming along to our PLANT A TREE FOR LIFE hands-on tree Community Woodland planting sessions in December 2008 for communities or businesses click here
• By joining in when trees are planted in your local open space organised by the Friends of Open Spaces Groups click here
• By sponsoring a large semi-mature tree in a park click here.
• By becoming a Foundation Sponsor if you are a business interested in improving the environment in Birmingham and involving your staff in a very worthwhile local project click here.
• By sponsoring a Reading Tree click here.
• By joining The Birmingham Civic Society click here and becoming involved in the work of running the project through the Trees Committee click here.
• By joining the Birmingham Open Spaces Forum and becoming involved in generating new tree planting projects in your local park or open space. Click here.
Sponsoring a semi-mature tree in a park near where you live or work.
One or more large trees can be planted in a park near you and we will look after them for two years. These trees are large enough not to be vandalised by being broken off and they really do look like ‘proper’ trees immediately they have been planted. Each large tree costs £200 including planting and aftercare. If you want to donate a single tree, it will be added to one of our programmed planting schemes in your area of the City and you can come along and get involved. If you would like to donate five or more trees, we will organise a planting day especially for you at a location near to where you live or work and you can gather friends, relatives or colleagues to come and help plant the trees. As they are so large, we use contractors to dig the planting pits with a machine and lift the tree into place.
Healthy soil is then put next to the tree so you can fill the hole (spades provided) and then they are securely staked to protect them. Such trees are suitable for celebrating a birthday, anniversary or business event. They can even commemorate the loss of a loved one. We cannot mark these trees with a plaque, but you can visit them anytime.
Becoming a foundation sponsor
Does your business sympathise with the aims and objectives of Birmingham Trees for Life?
If you are a business that would like a long-term relationship with us, then you could become one of our Foundation Sponsors. You will be kept fully involved in the progress of the campaign and be invited to events. We would be looking for a three to five year relationship, with a donation of £5,000 per year and during that time we would invite you to at least one planting day a year especially dedicated to you, where your company can involve staff and colleagues in a hands on event with trees. Your support will be fully recognised on our website, in our literature and through press releases.
Sponsoring a Reading Tree
Reading Trees are a new concept supported by Community Services Volunteers. They work with children, mainly in inner city schools, to teach them about the importance of trees and encourage them to read and write about them. A large tree is then planted in the school grounds together with a circular bench around it so that the children have a shady place to read and relax. Shade is increasingly important in playgrounds that are often bare environments. The whole package of education sessions, providing and planting the large tree and providing the bench on paving, costs £3,500. Several companies might like to get together to share the cost. Whether you sponsor a Reading Tree or make a contribution, you will be invited to the planting ceremony and be able to take part in listening to the poems and stories that the children have written about the importance of trees. Full details of this innovative project can be found here.