The Bewdley School get a lesson in tree planting as they visit Bewdley woodland site

Over half of the trees allocated to the Bewdley site have now been planted, with the second phase now well underway, with special thanks to the county’s young, green fingered gardeners.

Students were helping to plant trees at the near to the Blackstone Picnic Place site, as the current weather presents ideal conditions for tree planting.

When complete, a total of 8,000 native trees like Oak, Hazel, Rowan and Birch will have been planted at this site.

Councillor Tony Miller, Cabinet Member for the Environment, said: “It was wonderful to see the young people getting involved, getting messy, planting and even naming the trees. I’d like to thank local member Ian Hardiman for his commitment to the project and helping to get local schools involved and I look forward to the next session with another local primary school. Tree planting is a key part of our commitment to protecting our county’s environment and I look forward to seeing this woodland continue to take shape.”

Dave Hadley-Pryce, Headteacher of The Bewdley School, said: “We are all acutely aware of how important protecting and nurturing our environment is to the future quality of our lives and those of our children. Central in these concerns are combating climate change and supporting biodiversity, and what is particularly special about this project is that it achieves both. Only by seeing this first hand can our students really understand the importance of growing indigenous species, and the role of woodland in regulating our climate. We would like to thank councillors Miller and Hardiman for making this project possible and giving us the opportunity to be involved.”

The County Council has pledged to plant 150,000 trees over the next 5 years with the Bewdley site being the first to be completed.

Other sites across the county have been highlighted to complete the planting target by the end of 2025.

The Council is also looking into other sites, alongside the ones at Bewdley and Evesham as the project continues over the next three years.