Tree-mendous effort as volunteers get planting
Volunteers branched out to plant trees and 50m of hedgerow near Shrewsbury Abbey.
The Belle Vue Tree Planting Group was joined by volunteers who picked up their shovels and went to work on the verge beside the Abbey Car Park. There were 40 people in total who got stuck in and helped.
Organiser and arboriculturist Brendan Tuer said: "There was a need to plant this area, not only to improve this approach to town and screen a vast expanse of car park but also to help alleviate flooding associated with the Rea Brook. This project for a high profile location needed input from local landscape architects and Future Arbor Ltd, who devised a scheme we presented to councillors and authorities."
Retiring Abbey ward councillor Hannah Fraser, a qualified hydro-geology consultant, helped with the planting, along with her family. She said: "This is a fantastic grass roots community initiative which I was delighted to support. Trees and hedgerow are really important for reducing flood risks, improving air quality and helping wildlife in urban spaces. Thanks to a huge turn-out, this strip of land has been transformed in just a few hours."
Brendan added: "The best ideas always start one night in the pub. In our case, we saw a need to help local authorities improve our grass verges and green spaces where budgets are constrained and in turn improve our public highways for the benefit of local communities and the travelling public.
"Street trees are an underfunded resource which have many often forgotten benefits and bring a little bit of nature into our urban landscape. The Belle Vue Tree Planting Group was established and set to work identifying key locations like Old Potts Way where planting the right tree in the right place would benefit everyone."
