Remembering Milton Keynes from 1967 and sowing the seeds for 22 million trees

You might say that we’re a city of trees, as some of Living Archive MK’s images of tree planting reveal. The earliest picture shows young trees being planted in Fullers Slade – this would have been in November 1972! Next oldest is the one of the palm tree being installed at the Bletchley Leisure Centre pool – this dates from 1974. The one of youngsters planting trees at Water Hall school dates from the late 70s, as does the one with bagged trees waiting to be installed in the planters in centre:MK, which opened to the public in September 1979. We then skip a decade to the late 80s with the image of Chief Scout Garth Morrison planting a tree at the opening of the Scouts’ new residential building at Cosgrove Quarries in 1988 and finally we see the pupils of Shepherds Well First School in Springfield, busy digging in 1989. I wonder how big all those trees are now? Twenty-two million trees is quite a lot, but we could always do with a few more. By absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, trees help combat climate change, provide habitats for wildlife and can help prevent flooding and soil erosion. If you’re interested in doing a spot of tree planting yourself, The Woodland Trust is giving away free trees to schools and community groups - to find out more visit the website. To find out more about how Living Archive MK preserves memories of our area in past times and browse our online book sale visit the website.