Hetty Fruer-Denham of Trees for Cities writes:
Trees for Cities worked in partnership with Tower Hamlets Council to plant 58 new young trees in Bethnal Green Gardens and Weavers Fields. Across two weeks of events and workshops in February and March, we hosted over 240 local residents, nursery and school children, university students, and greening groups, to plant a beautiful range of trees in the two parks.
The trees planted included three black poplars in Weavers Fields. This is Britain’s rarest native timber tree, and has a long association with Tower Hamlets, giving Poplar district its name. We also planted a disease-resistant elm in Bethnal Green Gardens, which was provided by Butterfly Conservation through their Big City Butterflies project. Elm is the caterpillar foodplant of the white-letter hairstreak butterfly, a species which has declined since the 1970s through the loss of elms to Dutch elm disease.
These new trees will benefit users of the park and create new habitat for wildlife, contributing to the Local Biodiversity Action Plan.
Someone wrote of their experience:
‘What a wonderful day. [It’s] lovely knowing I’ll be able to walk through the park for years to come, seeing my tree!’
The events were also supported and attended by the Friends of Bethnal Green Gardens, local ward Councillors and a founding member of Trees for Cities.
Header photo: volunteers planting a tree at Weavers Fields
All photos by Trees for Cities, click to enlarge
Tools ready at Bethnal Green Gardens
Fitting a tree guard, Bethnal Green Gardens
Base camp at Weavers Fields
Approaching with mulch, Weavers Fields
