City marks over 100,000 trees planted since 2021 – with over 34,000 this season

Most of the planting came as part of the Queens Green Canopy, with over 45 schools across the city getting involved to plant trees in memory of the late Queen Elizabeth II.

Over a total of six weeks, 21,688 trees were planted by schools, which included a variety of Tiny Forests, copses, boundary hedgerows and Single Trees.

Further planting across the city came from a variety of extra initiatives, including by private residents and businesses (4,452 combined), contributing their bit to the local environment. This includes nearly 4,000 trees planted by Holme Hall Quarry in Stainton.

Extra initiatives included large-scale council planting and community planting (4,828 combined) and the planting of an Oak Tree to mark the visit of His Majesty, King Charles III in November last year.

This now takes the total amount of counted trees planted in Doncaster since the declaration of the Climate and Biodiversity Emergency by Mayor Ros Jones in 2019, to 107,846 with further trees still set to be registered from the most recent tree planting season.

Mayor of Doncaster Ros Jones said: “Our officers have worked tirelessly over the past six months to maximise the number of trees planted during the prime planting season that the winter period allows.

“We have a long way to go to reach the one million-mark but, I am proud of the enthusiasm by which communities have got on board with the target we set back in 2021 to see a million trees planted across Doncaster by 2031.

“I want to pay particular thanks to the 45 schools who answered our call this tree planting season. Not only were we able to maximise local school land – often perfect locations for tree planting – but we were also able to share our enthusiasm with the school children who will be the long-term guardians of these trees.

“The Climate and Biodiversity emergency I declared in 2019 is and will remain one of the top priorities for City of Doncaster Council, and this tree planting proactivity marks a significant piece of work in this area.”

City of Doncaster Council were successful in a series of funding applications throughout the tree planting season, which aided the planting further.

The Grow Back Greener Challenge Fund, for instance, awarded the Council over £50,000 to work on further projects across three sites, including the planting of 1,500 trees at Crossfield Lane, Skellow, 1,800 trees at Sheffield Road, Conisbrough, and the beginning of a natural regeneration project at Magnet Fields, Bentley over a five-year period.

The council were successful in further funding streams, including the Local Authority Treescapes Fund (£140k to create seven Tiny Forests in partnership with Earthwatch,) and the Emergency Tree Fund (£221k to build staff capacity for planting, maintenance and education.)

Cabinet member for Sustainability and Waste, Cllr Mark Houlbrook, said: “It was a delight to be out and about visiting and taking part in the planting of trees across the City of Doncaster.

“The students and members of the public I came across were all incredibly passionate about getting stuck-in and doing what they could to help-out. Most of the trees that were planted would not have been so without the help of so many people and I want to congratulate everyone involved for their hard work, for their passion, and for their commitment.”

Attention now turns to maintaining the trees and helping them grow throughout the spring and summer period, as well as preparing in advance for the start of the next tree planting season.

Cllr Houlbrook added: “If you haven’t done so already, let us know via our tree planting register if you have planted a tree over the past few months and haven’t already registered the tree. This will allow us to keep up-to-date and allow us to plan out the spread of trees across the city. Finally, help us to protect and nurture the new trees, so that our future generations will be able to enjoy them!”

To find out more – and to access the tree planting register – visit https://www.yourlifedoncaster.co.uk/trees-and-woodlands