Tower Hamlets Council has planted 1200 small trees at Jolly’s Green Open Space, in Poplar, as part of a bid to improve our environment. The trees were planted to address the fact that there is little woodland in Tower Hamlets.The recent planting of trees consisted of a mixture of species native to Britain, including Field Maple, Hazel, Cherry, Buckthorn, Elder and Guelder Rose.
The creation of this new woodland will encourage wildlife, reduce local air and noise pollution and enhance the local environment. Over the next three years, the council’s Clean and Green team intends to plant additional trees to create more woodland.
While not strictly woodland, numerous trees in the borough’s parks, streets, housing estates and gardens are important in providing valuable habitat for birds, bats and invertebrates. This is particularly true of native trees and those which are good sources of nectar and/or berries, as well as large trees which provide structural habitat.
Managing these trees properly, and planting more in places where they do not harm existing open habitats, will contribute to biodiversity conservation.
The planting, which covers about half a hectare, exceeds the target for new native woodland in the borough’s Local Biodiversity Action Plan (LBAP). The inclusion of Buckthorn, the caterpillar foodplant of the Brimstone butterfly, contributes to another LBAP target.
