Well it is National Tree Week ;-) https://treecouncil.org.uk/take-action/seasonal-campaigns/national-tree-week/
Wokingham Borough Council have announced they are starting (yet another) consultation on where to put some of the 250,000 trees they have pledged to plant by 2030, details below:
"In celebration of National Tree Week, Wokingham Borough Council is launching a pilot Garden Forest Scheme, which is part of its aspiration to becoming a net-zero carbon borough, and invites residents to apply for a tree, or trees, for their own garden.
Over the next five years, we are looking to plant 250,000 trees across the borough to increase carbon sequestration rates. Carbon sequestration is a process whereby the trees will draw excess CO2 from the atmosphere and store it.
In order to apply to the Garden Forest Scheme, the council invites you to visit its Engage platform, where you will find an application form and more information about the scheme, and the project as a whole".
Hmmm, so Reading University have a spare 675 Hectares of good quality agricultural land they no longer need for teaching about agriculture, why not ask them? After all, they are trying very hard to be seen as the "Greenest University in the U.K". Maybe they would like to donate some of their spare land for trees? Why don't we ask them? https://www.reading.ac.uk/planet/what-you-can-do
Meanwhile, slowly growing, capturing carbon, providing wild life habitats and generally improving quality of life for all who walk beneath them, Hall Farm already has many hundreds of mature trees. You can really appreciate just how many by looking at this diagram:
Actually, a far better way to explore the fantastic variety, size, age and sheer beauty of the trees, not just here but across the whole of Wokingham, is to take a look at the Wokingham Veteran Tree Association website, here:
It is a fantastic resource, lovingly maintained and full of information about all the veteran trees across the borough.
Incidentally, Veteran Trees are not protected under planning law! These trees are very much at risk from the bulldozers!
From the local news: https://www.wokingham.today/protect-lower-earleys-trees-says-resident/ This is what will happen here if we don't stand up to this development.