MEMBERS of a local netball team have joined Leicester City Council’s environmental rangers to plant dozens of small trees.
Twelve volunteers from the Leicester-based Hawks Netball Club braved the cold conditions to plant 126 small trees – known as ‘whips’ – on land at Aylestone playing fields.
The hardworking netball players are just some of the Leicester Environmental Volunteers who will give up their time this winter to plant trees as part of the city’s growing urban forest.
On Aylestone playing fields alone, around 1,750 whips will be planted this season, including species of oak, birch, field maple and hawthorn.
Deputy city mayor Cllr Elly Cutkelvin, who’s responsible for Leicester’s parks, trees and woodlands, said: “We’re hugely grateful to our trees & woodland team, our environmental rangers and our amazing Leicester Environmental Volunteers for all the work they will do during the winter planting season.
“This year, we’re expecting to plant more than 7,000 whips, as well as more than 200 large trees at sites across Leicester, with most of the planting complete by the end of March 2024.
“We’re committed to increasing the number of trees in the city council’s ownership, recognising the important role that trees play in reducing air pollution, supporting wildlife and mitigating the impact of floods.”
Leicester City Council manages a tree stock of 178,000 individual trees and around 112 hectares of woodland.
This includes trees in parks and open spaces, on highway verges, on housing estates, within the grounds of schools, and around community facilities.
More information can be found in the 2022/23 annual review of the city council’s tree strategy.
Information about environmental volunteering opportunities in Leicester is available here
Picture caption: Members of Hawks Netball Club prepare to plant more than 100 small trees at Aylestone playing fields in Leicester.