Council involved in the planting of over 30,000 trees

During this planting season Bedford Borough Council have set records for the number of trees planted. The Council have planted over 13,000 trees across the Borough themselves and have helped the Forest of Marston Vale plant 17,500 on the Council's Octagon Farm land, bringing the total number of trees planted in Bedford Borough to over 30,000.

Mayor Dave Hodgson said "We have planted over 30,000 trees this year and I intend to carry on planting more trees next year. This is part of my mission to make Bedford Borough a cleaner and greener place to live. We are already on target to reach our commitment to be zero carbon by 2030 and planting more trees will help us to take further steps forward in tackling climate change.

"I want to say thank you to the Environment Team for all their hard work in organising these huge planting sessions. The North Brickhill Jackman's Farm I think set a new target to be achieved by others - it was the biggest planting day that Forest of Marston Vale had done with nearly 5,000 trees planted in one day, which is really quite phenomenal."

Major tree planting projects:

• Jackman's Farm: Over 5,500 trees planted to enlarge and support the existing woodlands.
• Tree Giveaway: The Council gave away 5000 trees to residents and organisations in February.
• The Queen's Green Canopy: 200 trees were planted in Great Denham Country Park, 45 trees along the riverbank in Queen's Park and 30 trees on Eastcotts Road and Lancaster Avenue.
• Trees for Streets: Charity that engages with local residents, sponsors and charities to collect funds for tree planting. They have been involved in the planting of over 100 trees on streets this year.
• Putnoe Park Blossom Circle: To commemorate those lost during the COVID-19 pandemic and provide a space for residents to reflect on how the past few years have affected us all.

Mayor Dave continued "Next year is about looking for land and where we can plant, so that we can continue to increase the number of trees in the Borough. When the Forest of Marston Vale first started in 2000, it had 3% tree coverage - it now has over 15% and we must continue to work with them to increase this further.

"Over the summer we will be looking at where we can put more trees, so if residents have got ideas please put them forward. I'm looking forward to the challenge next year of trying to match what we have achieved in this planting season."