Thousands of free trees were collected in Watford last weekend (9 Dec), through the 'Your Tree Our Future' initiative, led by Hertfordshire County Council and supported by Watford Borough Council...
Across the county there were 74,000 tree applications, with 8,980 trees requested in Watford for collection on 9 December at Woodside Playing Fields. Within Hertfordshire, these trees have the potential to eliminate an estimated 125,000 tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere throughout their lifespan
The giveaway was delivered by a partnership of the county council and Hertfordshire’s district and borough councils, as well as local charity Growing People. Herts FullStop provided its facilities, workforce and logistical expertise to help prepare and deliver the trees to the relevant pick-up points across the county.
The tree giveaways – which started in 2022 and will see a minimum of 100,000 trees given away by 2026 – are just one of the ways helping to deliver both Watford Borough Council's and Hertfordshire County Council's respective Tree and Woodland strategy’s. They outline plans to establish 20,000 trees by 2026 in Watford and plant 1.8m new trees in Hertfordshire by 2030.
Elected Mayor of Watford, Peter Taylor, said: “It’s great that residents can get more involved with making Watford a greener place to live, and the community support was shown with nearly 9,000 trees requested. These trees will mainly be in private gardens, making sure that neighbourhoods across Watford will benefit.
“When I was elected, I set a goal of helping to plant 20,000 trees by 2026 in the town. This tree giveaway was a massive step towards that goal, as well as helping the borough’s goal to be carbon net zero by 2030.”
Whilst the order-window to claim your free trees is now closed, you can apply via the respective council waiting lists at hertfordshire.gov.uk/yourtree and www.watford.gov.uk/treeplanting
