SixIslington Forest for Change trees have been planted in a Clerkenwell school playground to create a natural play area, provide clean air and address climate change.
One of our goals for planting Islington Forest for Change trees is to benefit as many school children as possible. So when deciding on locations for the 200 trees, we prioritised planting locations in and outside schools.
Hugh Myddelton school children in the south of the borough are exposed to high levels of air pollution during their school day. So when they got in touch we were very keen to help.
Associate Head Tim Barber heard about Islington Forest for Change through our campaign and asked if the nursery could be a potential location. He already had plans to create a natural play area for the nursery and was keen to plant some trees.
“We want children to be able to be themselves when they play, even if that means getting dirty. The new playground will give children access to play in and around the trees during their day and bring all the benefits that being in nature provides. We are strong advocates of forest school and will now able to provide this on site.”
Tim Barber, Associate Headteacher
The trees are an important part of the naturalisation of the playground in an otherwise urban environment and will bring numerous benefits to Hugh Myddelton school children. In addition, the school will be planting a hedgerow along the fences creating a green wall that will shield the children from the surrounding car park. The ground will be left to become a meadow and for leaves to fall and rot, returning nutrients to the ground. Tim understands that allowing this natural process to take place, rather than keeping manicured lawns, will nourish the trees. Being able to kick around in the leaves during the autumn, squelch in mud doing the winter and see the blossom in spring will enable children to experience and appreciate the cycle of nature.
The six Islington Forest for Change trees planted in the grounds of Hugh Myddelton nursery. Hedging will also be planted, acting as a green screen against the car park and road beyond the fence. The ground will be left as a wild meadow, home to a variety of different species. The leaves from the trees will be allowed to fall and rot down, nourishing the earth beneath them so that the nutrients will continue to feed the trees as they grow.
The six trees bring greenery into an otherwise urban environment. The increase of nature and green space will bring mental and physical health benefits to the children and help improve their learning. In addition, they reduce the risk of flooding, provide shade on hot days and places for children to play. They release oxygen and store carbon, addressing climate change.
Planting a group of trees together means they are more likely to thrive and live healthier, longer lives. Under the ground, the trees communicate to each other, sharing nutrients. Their positive effects against climate change are amplified when they are planted in a group.
Islington Forest for Change is a campaign led by Islington Clean Air Parents and green partners. The trees were donated to us by the Forest for Change exhibition at Somerset House in June 2021. We successfully crowdfunded to fund this project and it was incredibly well supported but residents. Our team also engaged councillors who donated LIFF funds from 15 out of the 16 wards. We are working in partnership with Islington Council and their tree team to plant the trees and agree suitable locations. Our objective is to see them planted in areas most needed and that the whole borough benefits from them.
Islington Council are planting 450 trees this year so Islington Forest for Change trees increases this target by 40%. This project has highlighted the passion residents have for trees and their wish for more in their neighbourhoods. We would like the council to increase their planting targets and aim for 40% street canopy cover by 2030.
Islington Forest for Change is a successful collaboration between community, council and business, made possible by the hard work of a team of volunteers keen to bring positive change to the borough.
Schools and parents interested in greening a playground, planting hedges, trees or even a pocket forest please email us: islingtoncleanair@gmail.com
Nurture: The Environment and You – working together to protect and restore.Get informed, get inspired and get involved
To ‘nurture’ is to care and protect something that is growing. This series of workshops will provide the tools you need to nurture yourself, your family and your environment.
Whether you are just beginning to think about climate change issues or are already involved in positive change there is something for everyone. We will cover key aspects of our daily lives, such as eating well, gardening and growing food, the health benefits of walking, child-friendly streets, local wildlife, tree planting and more.
Gain a better understanding of climate change, how it will affect you and how you can make a difference in your life and local community. Each session will be led by a guest speaker with an opportunity to ask questions and share ideas.
Launch event Tuesday 30th November, at 7:30pm
David Saddington, Head of International Nature Campaign COP26, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, our keynote speaker. He was joined by seven workshop leaders who will give an overview of their events which run through to late Spring 2022.
We are delighted to be collaborating with the brilliant Inspiring Sustainable Islington to bring you this series of free workshops. It is designed to make taking personal action over climate change more manageable and seem less daunting.
Climate change can seem very overwhelming. Although scientists have been warning about the impact of human behaviour on our planet for 30 years, it has suddenly hit the headlines over recent months. Firstly, in August when the IPCC report said it’s “code red for humanity”, it is proved that Global warming is a result of human greenhouse gas emission and that it’s having a catastrophic effect on our planet. Then again, during COP26, the global United Nations summit about climate change and how countries are planning to tackle it.
The United Nations has made clear that the world needs ‘urgent climate action’ to limit carbon emissions and keep temperatures below 1.5C. Sadly, the outcomes of COP26 are disappointing. However, life goes on, but we know it’s not ‘business as usual’; colossal change is required and it needs to happen fast. Islington is the 6th borough most vulnerable to climate change (source: GLA Risk of Climate Change). We are a very densely populated area, with very little green space (and a lot of concrete).
The planet is our home, and it needs nurturing. We cannot solve the global crisis on our own, but we can all make a difference in our daily lives by taking action to restore and protect our environment.
We hope to fast-track you to finding practical solutions in your daily lives:
Get informed. Understanding the problem helps us find solutions;
Get involved in positive change. Small efforts can make all the difference. You can change your own life and be an inspiration to others;
Join or start a campaign and work with others on causes you believe in;
Encourage your family, school and employers to live in an eco-friendly way;
You can make a difference in your life with positive action.
Other topics which will be included in the series: Climate Safe Streets, Healthy Streets Scorecard, Regenerative Farming & Rewilding, ethical finance and how to live within your carbon budget. If you are passionate about a topic and would like it to be included in this series, do get in touch; we’d be delighted to chat.
If you missed the launch of Nurture on 30th November, don’t worry, we recorded it !
Rachael : context and introduction to NurtureIslington 02:08
David : keynote speaker: 07:04
Ursula: environmentally sustainable diet: 32:30
Mike: why should we care about birds: 44:26
Emma/Rachael: I-Spy and Footways local walks: 50:09
Brenda: how to achieve community parklets: 56:42
Lucy: why trees are our friends: 01:02:26
Melanie: our health, the NHS and the climate emergency: 01:09:46
We had fantastic afternoon on Sunday 14th November enjoying our family friendly Autumn walk though our precious green spaces and some people-friendly streets in Canonbury and Highbury.
We were delighted to collaborate with David Harrison from Islington Living Streets and founder of Footways walking routes. He devised this lovely walking route for us and shared his wonderful knowledge of local history along the way.
We met at Willow Bridge Road in Canonbury. The bridge over the New River was pedestrianised some 20-30 years ago to stop it being used as a cut-through. The area is now busy with people walking and cycling.
My children and I had created an I-Spy scavenger hunt for this walk. We were pleased that it proved to be a huge hit with both children and adults alike.
We began along the New River Walk, a much loved and flourishing green space with lots of wildlife to see.
Parents relaxed and helped their children look at their surroundings. It was wonderful to see how excited they were to learn about nature and history in Islington.
Children were free to have fun and play. Despite many of them having only met that day, they had fun trampling through Autumn leaves and helping each other to to spot interesting sights.
“It was a really fun event, which wouldn’t have been possible without local Low Traffic Neighbourhoods.”
Rob Davis, father of two and local resident.
Islington streets have a lot to offer when they are people-friendly. Walking in safer, quieter streets with cleaner air gave us all a real spring in our step.
We had many requests for more family friendly I-Spy walks, so we are already planning the next one!
Details of our Winter walk coming soon!
Become a member of Islington Clean Air Parents to join our mailing list and find out about upcoming events.
Islington Council launched their Islington Together: Let’s talk about a greener future” festival at Islington Assembly Hall on Monday, 18th October.
I attended the event along with council staff, local campaigners, stakeholders and community groups. This was the start of a series of events to green the borough.
Islington Town Hall Assembly room looked magnificent with trees from Islington Forest on display for the event. They looked beautiful and healthy, ready for planting later in the month and the perfect symbol of our Forest for Change project to green the borough together.
Cllr Rowena Champion thanked the council tree service and Islington Clean Air Parents for the collaborative efforts on the Islington Forest for Change project, and added “the massive energy from Islington Clean Air Parents should be replicated in the future. We look forward to working with ICAP going forward.” She also said, “we can turn the grey (concrete) to green, it costs much more to put trees in roads but we are going to have to do it because we are running out of space.”
“the massive energy from Islington Clean Air Parents should be replicated in the future.”
Cllr Rowena Champion, Executive Member for Environment and Transport
Islington Forest of Change trees on display.
A series of speeches began with Council Leader, Kaya Comer-Schwartz, she provided context for the programme of events. The council have declared a climate emergency and committed to being net zero by 2030. They recognise it’s a huge challenge but one that must be undertaking to address inequality in the borough and improve life expectancy. Islington is one of the most densely populated boroughs in England and Wales. It is triple the London average and 37 times more than the national average with a very high level of child poverty.
She gave an overview of the four areas they are focusing on: transport, building infrastructure, natural environment and waste. On transport the Leader acknowledged that air pollution has reached dangerous levels and that lowest income families are worse effected. I was pleased to hear her confirm they are dedicated to taking decisive action to reduce air pollution with their People Friendly Streets programme and that they recognise the need to work with everyone in the borough to achieve their aims.
Next up was Cllr Rowena Champion who explained why Climate Change is the the biggest challenge Islington will face going forward.
Islington is the 6th London boroughmost vulnerableto climate change according to the GLA Risk of Climate Change report. The borough is very dense and has a lot of concrete, this coupled with increased extreme heat events and surface water flooding will have a huge impact. She said, “climate change is a global problem but it’s also a real problem for Islington now.”
She spoke about the sources of carbon emission, to address this the council are working on a decarbonising plan, looking at retrofitting buildings, district heat networks, green economy and they have a number of initiatives including a ‘library of things’, a borrowing service opening soon.
It was great to hear that Cllr Champion is determined to change the way people move around the streets to improve people’s health and wellbeing, she said they want to “reimagine our public space: make them in to play spaces for children, to make them greener and make them healthier.” We have some great ideas for this! Check out our campaigns.
David Harrison, chair of Islington Living Streets and co-founder of Footways walking maps explained that behaviour change is required but it’s difficult for public health campaigns to have an impact with the scale of car advertising with car-centric messaging.
Traffic is a significant contributor to greenhouse gases. There is huge potential for walking in Islington it plays a significant part in tackling Climate Change. One third of journeys are under 2km which is easily walked.
David said “If you’re thinking of ways to combat climate change I suggest go for a walk!” What a wonderful suggestion.
He proposed monitoring walking patterns, greening, rain gardens placed in roads instead of cars. Go for carshare not ownership. Low traffic neighbourhoods do have a positive effect, he encouraged the council to keep going with the fantastic People Friendly Streets! ICAP agree!
David concluded, providing more pro-pedestrian infrastructure enables behaviour change and makes public health campaigns relevant. “Let’s use these new attractive people friendly routes for safer and healthier daily walks with Footways map!”
ICAP love them, not only can these routes provide attractive and more pleasant ways to get around our city but more importantly walking on quieter streets with fewer cars reduces the impact of air pollution caused by traffic.
Rosie Kurnaz, Islington Young Mayor, representing the youth council. She said, “young people are fighting for their voices to be heard, they often feel disregarded and ignored.They want to be part of creating change and making an impact on climate change.“
Collective action is key and has a huge impact but that all starts with an individual action which snowballs, i.e. encouraging young people to walk to school will have multiple benefits for them and their environment. Young people need to be part of the solutions because they are going to be the ones who live with consequences of the actions taken today. She and other young people are committed to holding the council to account to insure they act on their promises.
MP, Jeremy Corbyn gave a short overview of Islington’s history in making the borough more sustainable. He reminded some of the audience of the 1992 Rio Climate Summit, which he said was a turning point in history. Islington council recongnised that and so set up a climate committee called ‘Agenda 2021’, which he chaired. They examined council services for environmental sustainability and worked on community engagement. In May 2019 he proposed a motion to parliament, which resulted in it making a declaration that we were facing a climate emergency. It was the first parliament in the world to make that declaration.
He said “Unless we realise and the whole world understands there is a climate emergency little will be achieved.” He said he would be attending COP26 and demonstrations on the 6th November to show that people are very concerned about the climate emergency, however, he said “being ‘very concerned’ doesn’t cut it and doesn’t bring about the changes that are necessary, it is about practical steps to bring about a green industrial revolution.” This means engaging with existing polluting industries to become more environmentally sustainable. They need support to guarantee the jobs of their workforces in order to make the transition.
We need to look at our use of nature and natural resources in our daily lives. We may know that we should buy sustainable products, but that can be expensive. He said: “Surely, we need to legislate for environmentally sustainable food and manufacturing from the beginning rather than leave it to those who can afford it.”
It was fantastic to hear that the council are committed to some ambitious goals and initiatives and that they recognise that in order to achieve these goals they need to work with the whole community. Thankfully, there are many people in the borough with valuable knowledge, skills and creative thinking who are willing to get involved. Islington Clean Air Parents for one look forward to working in partnership with the council again soon for a cleaner and greener borough.
The event closed with a short Q&A, which only scratched the surface, clearly there is a lot to talk about. If you have questions and ideas feed them back to the council by engaging with consultations and developments. Join a local community group, become and ICAP member here, we’d love to hear your ideas!
The first trees of our Islington Forest for Change project have been planted! Four of the trees originally part of the Somerset House exhibition were planted in an under-used open space near Liverpool Road on Friday 22nd October.
Children from local schools helped to plant the first tree, a silver birch, and also planted dozens of flowering bulbs under the guidance of local gardener Lynne Friendli.
Luella Facer, aged ten, who put in the first shovel of soil, dedicated the tree to her great, great grandfather Harry Facer, who lived in Islington in 1850.
A team of 15 people from Angel Central, planted another of the trees, as well as clearing the site of litter, removing weeds and planting bulbs. Angel Central shopping centre are sponsoring the project, and will continue to be involved in the transformation of the space through staff volunteering days.
Rowena Champion, Islington Council’s Executive Member for Environment and Transport, attended the event and thanked Islington Clean Air Parents and all the volunteers for their support.
Over the coming 12 months, the space will be transformed with more trees and bulbs planted, and a woodland habitat created with bird boxes and insect piles. The space will be renamed Islington Forest for Change, and will become the hub for the wider tree planting project.
We will be inviting local schools to get involved, using the space as an outdoor classroom for forest learning. Plus there will be more bulb and tree planting sessions in the next few months.
If you would like to volunteer or get involved with this space, please get in touch via email: islingtoncleanair@gmail.com
The rest of the trees funded through our crowdfunder campaign will be planted over the winter months.
We have a problem. It is has been proved that human activity is destroying the earth. The science has been clear for decades; burning fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) is responsible for climate change. We have been lied to by fossil fuel companies such as Shell and BP. They are spending trillions of dollars supressing data, greenwashing and discrediting climate science for years, and now some of them are on trial in the US. The fossil fuel industry benefits from subsidies of $11m every minute, according to analysis by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). They make huge profits whilst polluting and brutalising the planet resulting in a rise in temperature causing a catastrophe for all living things.
Global warming as a result of human greenhouse gas emissions is having a catastrophic effect on our planet. Our climate is changing, with more frequent extreme weather events, such as: wildfires in the Greece, US and Australia; heatwaves in North America and Russia; flooding in England, Germany and China. Some changes are now irreversible, the polar icecaps are melting, sea levels are rising dramatically, oceans are heating-up destroying coral reefs and marine life, many animal species are becoming extinct. Land and sea are becoming uninhabitable resulting in mass migration and loss of human and animal life.
The rich in the richest nations are the most responsible for this global climate crisis and the poor are the first to suffer the consequences.
A recent report from the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) said it’s ‘code red for humanity’. It will not affect some imagined future generations in other countries – it’s happening to people living NOW and WILL have an impact on you, your children and your grandchildren. It’s literally on our doorstep – the recent flooding in London will now be a regular occurrence we have to adapt to. Air pollution is the biggest environmental threat to health in the UK, with around 36,000 deaths a year attributed to long-term exposure.
Solutions are available
As Sir David Attenborough said in his opening speech to COP26 delegates this week, are we doomed because we are “failing to see the bigger picture in pursuit of short-term goals?” However, he urged world leaders to “turn this tragedy in to a triumph” he also said, “we are after all the greatest problem solvers that ever existed on Earth” and “We must fix our sights on keeping below 1.5 degrees.” We have a choice we can put this in reverse as solutions are available and we will all benefit.
“We are after all the greatest problem solvers that ever existed on Earth.”
Sir David Attenborough, COP26 People’s Advocate.
This month world leaders are meeting for COP26 in Glasgow to discuss how they work together to limit temperature rises to 1.5C. Should we sit back and wait for them to provide the answers? No. They are falling very far short of meeting the targets set by the Paris agreement in 2015. We must do everything we can to protect our loved ones and our environment because every individual action does make a difference. If we don’t act, can we look our children and young people in the eye and say “I did everything I could to reverse this climate catastrophe and improve our environment?”
There’s a decision to make; do we stand by and watch our own destruction over the next decade or do we act now. We all have busy lives but there is time, it can be found. As individuals we can make changes by altering our behaviour right now, this week you can reduce: car use; consumption and waste; eat less meat and lobby your leaders and politicians to enable us to make better choices.
Together we are stronger
It’s not too late, get involved and use your energy to find solutions not problems. We need to work together and ensure no one is left behind because together we are stronger. Where ever you are on join millions of people on Saturday 6th November for the Global Day of Action and show world leaders the time for action is now. It’s expected 100,000 people will march at COP26 in Glasgow, the other main march is here in London – Global Day of Action, 12pm, Bank of England, Threadneedle Street, London. See COP26coalition.org for details.
If you’re not able to join the march there are many other ways to get involved. Whatever your interests and skills they are needed. Join us and become a member or join another community group such as islingtonalliance.com or lowtrafficislington.org or national organisations like the Friends of the Earth or Greenpeace. Whatever you do, get informed and ACT NOW!
Islington Clean Air Parents and our children joined many other families for a children’s summit outside Parliament on 8th September 2021 to share their concerns with MPs about air pollution and the climate and nature crisis. The event was organised by Zero Hour and Letters for Future, the campaigners behind The Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill (The CEE Bill).
Children handed their letters to MPs and made banners to show them how concerned they are about climate change. It was very powerful and moving to hear children speak with such passion about their hopes and fears. They want the Government to prioritise the environment and do more to protect their future. One 9 year old boy from Islington wrote “we are animals and nature, if animals and nature die we die too.”
We spoke to MP Caroline Lucas, who has brought this bill to Parliament, she said “Children see the connection between humans and nature, but sadly there is a disconnect for many adults.”
We are grateful to MPs who took the time to listen to our children, including Islington South MP, Emily Thornberry, who was there but has not officially signed up yet. It is essential the government back the CEE Bill because legislation is the best way to protect our children’s health and their future.
What can you do?
Declare your support for the CEE Bill. It’s really easy to do via the Zero Hour link here. It’s really important you let your MP know that you care about this, that your children care about this and you want the Government to care about this enough to commit to action.
They need to hear from as many people as possible so please share widely to insure the climate and nature and emergency is at the heart of Government policy by passing this bill.
The Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill (The CEE Bill) The bill was first set up in 2008 with contributions from eminent scientists, academics and lawyers. It was first presented to parlament in 2020 and now has the backing of many MPs, Peers and many others from a wide variety of backgrounds. There are 140 MPs and Peers from across all the major parties currently supporting the Bill, including the Islington North MP, Jeremy Corbyn. However, there are a total of 650 MPs in Parliament so there is more work to be done to gain more support.
Parliament declared a Climate Emergency back in 2019 but action has not matched their words. The CEE Bill can do that.
Law making can be a long process the Environment Bill was first published almost three years ago, still needs to finish its passage through the Lords and House of Commons. The timelines are not yet known but the government is likely to want to wrap things up before COP26 in November. Declaring your support NOW is critically important Here.
Updates:
6th September: The House of Lords demanded a more ambitious approach by the UK Government to tackle air pollution. Peers voted in favour of an amendment to the Environment Bill that would commit the government to reduce levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), one of the most harmful pollutants, to within World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines by 2030 – at the latest.
21st October:
Climate Change Debate in the House of Commons.
An open letter was presented to Prime Minister Boris Johnston signed by 800+ including scientists, businesses, campaigners and politicians called for joined up climate-nature emergency plan for COP26 .
We held a Play Street event on Saturday 25th September to celebrate Car Free Day and the permanent closure of the road through Highbury Fields to traffic.
It was fantastic to see children enjoying the road space – we had skipping, chalk drawing, bubbles, and some hotly contested egg-and-spoon and three-legged races!
Several families passing by came to join in, and everyone commented how crazy it seems that cars were once able to drive along this road through the park! We also had visits from local elected councillors, the new Active Travel Officer for Islington Council, and dozens of cyclists taking part in a tour of local parklets!
As well as fun and games, we also had lots of conversations with people about what they thought should happen next with the road space. To gather these ideas, we had clipboards with templates of the road space, and asked people to sketch their vision.
There were lots of great ideas, with common themes being play spaces and spaces for wildflowers and nature, as well as some seating, improved (or removed) fencing, and a more demarcated space for a cycle path.
If you didn’t get a chance to attend, you can still contribute by downloading our printable template, sketching your ideas and emailing it to us.
Our next step is to put these ideas to the council and ask them to work with the community to develop both short-term plans for the space and a longer term vision.
At the event we are inviting the community to develop suggestions for how the space could be better used. You can sketch ideas on the road in chalk or an a printed paper template (pencils and clipboards will be provided). The results will be shared online and with Islington Council.
Join us on Saturday 25 September from 2-4PM. Bring your friends and family!
Many of the trees will be planted along streets, where they will be maintained by the tree team at Islington Council.
We spoke to Greg Packman, the Council’s Senior tree inspector, to find out more about the task of planting and maintaining these trees.
Greg Packman
What is the best part of your job?
Getting to work outdoors most days, alongside the trees!
You can find all manner of unusual species or trees that have grown in an unusual shape, or at certain times of year you can encounter a stunning blossom display or phenomenal autumn colour. Being able to see some of the hidden parts of Islington that I may not have seen otherwise is really nice as well.
Which tree species are best for streets?
Tough question! It depends on various factors such as the size of the road, pavement, overhead space and what is below ground – especially the soil!
On larger streets, trees such as the London plane can be great as they are more tolerant of urban life, filter more pollution, cast more shade, cool the air temperature and so much more. Other large-canopied trees such as Tulip tree or a group of South American trees known as the Nothofagus are also really interesting.
On smaller and residential streets, I’m a huge fan of the hawthorn as a street tree. You can buy special varieties that have fewer thorns and a more upright form that fits into the street. I think they’re great as they are fairly compact and shouldn’t need too much pruning. They are quite tough, have a wonderful flower that is both visually attractive and ecologically important as well as producing berries (haws) in the autumn.
There are a whole range of smaller trees that work very well on residential streets such as cherry trees, Magnolia and Hibiscus that are all wonderful flowering trees. There are a also range of maples that have lovely autumn colour and some amazing species of birch such as the Chinese red birch or American river birch that have stunning bark.
We do have to be quite mindful of the soil type and water demand of the trees we plant. Much of Islington is on shrinkable clay soils, which combined with prolonged drought and trees that have a high water demand can see an increase in subsidence claims – this plays a role in our species selection for certain areas of the borough. With temperatures increasing and reduced water availability in highways we do look for drought resistant trees as well.
What is involved in physically planting street trees?
The tree team goes around the borough looking for suitable locations to plant trees. On highways it could be fairly straightforward if there is an existing tree pit but no tree. Otherwise, if there is a space in the pavement, we’ll look at what else is in the immediate area such as utilities, street furniture, driveways or drop curbs, access routes and the width of the pavement.
If we think the location is suitable we’ll do another check for underground and unseen utility lines. After this, a suitable tree species is chosen which is based on the available growing space, soil type and general suitability of the tree.
For the planting, our contractors have to use machinery or tools to remove the hard surfacing to dig the tree pit which is usually 1m x 1m, but can be larger or smaller depending on the size of the tree and width of the pavement.
They’ll then place the tree in the tree pit, making sure that it is level and has as much growing space as possible and an irrigation pipe will be installed.
The planting hole is then back-filled and staked to stabilise the tree. Sometimes, resin bonded gravel or another surface will be placed over the planting pit, or it may be left as soil and mulch. Planted tree pits add to the biodiversity of the borough and, crucially, provide food for both bees and butterflies.
Pipes and bags work by slow-releasing water into the rooting area and distributing it over a wider area. With pipes there will be an above ground nozzle, then the underground pipe will circle the root ball and release water all around the tree. Bags wrap around the trunk with an opening at the top to pour in water, this takes longer to distribute all of the water so more can filtrate in to the soil.
The amount of watering required depends on the age and size of the tree when it is planted, plus the local environmental conditions. A larger planted tree needs much more water to help it establish than a smaller tree. The general practice is that from May to September then newly planted trees need around 50 litres per week, sometimes more during droughts if the tree is struggling.
Young trees are staked to support them from the wind. Although trees are naturally flexible, especially when they are young, the wind can blow them to the extent that their shape can be distorted. The tie that supports the tree to the stake shouldn’t be so tight that it constricts the tree’s growth. The stake and tie should be removed when the tree no longer needs it.
Often, newly planted trees will also have metal cages placed around them to protect them from vehicle damage.
How can a community get involved?
In my opinion, the best thing that a local community can do is to get to know their local trees and keep an eye on them. If the trees look like they are struggling over summer, then giving them some extra water can really help a lot.
If you think there is something more serious, such as disease or damage, then get in touch with the tree department so we can visit the tree.
After the tree has been planted for over a year, if the location is suitable you could also take part in our tree pit planting.
What are you most excited about in the Islington Forest for Trees project?
Getting new trees is always great and an exciting moment!
Having legacy trees is also special as well. There could be any number of great community projects such as creating a tree trail of the new trees across the borough.
I’ve always been very community focused with my work, so getting to collaborate with community groups and projects is always a nice thing to do.
The Islington Forest for Change crowdfunder runs until 28th July 2021. For a donation of £150, you can sponsor a tree in the name of an individual or organisation.
