Parks Trust to plant more than 8,000 trees across Milton Keynes this winter

The Parks Trust celebrated National Tree Week by announcing it is to plant 8,200 trees across the city over the course of this winter.

National Tree Week, November 27 - December 5, marked the beginning of the winter tree planting season (November to March). The campaign originally started in the 1960s as a response to the Dutch Elm disease crisis which wiped out more than 20 million trees in the UK.

Its success continued and in 1973 the ‘Plant a tree in '73’ campaign was launched bringing communities together in a combined effort to plant as many trees as possible throughout the year. Due to the success of these two campaigns, National Tree Week now happens every year in UK with communities, organisations, businesses and schools from all over the UK celebrating and plant trees.

The Parks Trust has a landscaping team of over 30 people who expertly care for their parkland. Since 1992 when the Trust was established, they have planted nearly 1 million trees and shrubs across Milton Keynes.

During November The Parks Trust and Community Trees MK have jointly planted almost 500 trees at Middleton Wood Meadow, a tree planting project started earlier in the year. If you would like to get involved in tree planting look out for future events hosted by both The Parks Trust and Community Trees MK in 2022. You can also support tree planting at The Parks Trust by making a donation towards its tree planting schemes at either Middleton Wood Meadow or Newlands Remembrance Walk.

A spokesman said: "Trees are an incredibly important part of our ecosystem. As the biggest plants on the planet, they give us oxygen to breath, store carbon and stabilise the soil. They also give life to the world’s wildlife by providing habitats and a source of food for thousands of species, from the tiniest insects to the largest mammals.

"In efforts to help combat climate change, tree planting is an increasingly popular way in which people can do their bit to help. In fact, just one tree could remove 1 tonne of CO2 from our air over its lifetime."

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