Pendle News Room

This is thanks to the hard work of Pendle Borough Council’s Green Spaces team and 138 amazing volunteers – 98 adults and 40 children – who have turned up to our community planting days throughout January and February.

There are still a few more opportunities this month for locals to come along and support the project, which aims to create 95 new micro-woodlands across Pennine Lancashire.

Phil Riley, the Council’s Green Spaces Manager, said:

“We’ve been delighted at the turnout of volunteers coming along to our community planting days, despite facing some very challenging weather conditions!

“There are still three more planting events in March to give local people the chance to dig in and do their bit.

“Any help - from individuals, local community groups and businesses – can still make a big difference in getting all 4,200 trees planted by the end of March,” he added.

Our final tree planting events in Pendle, with more details to be found on pendle.gov.uk/trees, are:

• Tuesday 15th March, 10:00 – 12:00 at Walverden Primary School, Bracewell Street Car Park, BB9 0TG
• Thursday 17th March, 1:00 – 3:00 at King George Playground, Skipton Road, Colne, BB8 0NY
• Sunday 20 March, 10am – 12:00 at Bank Street Park, Barnoldswick, BB18 6AU

Councillor Nadeem Ahmed, Leader of Pendle Borough Council, said:

“Tree planting is a great way to improve Pendle’s green spaces, support wildlife and bring local people together.

“It is also an important aspect of our bid to tackle climate change, and we want to involve the community in doing so.”

The saplings that have been planted in Pendle, including oak, hazel, rowan and cherry, will help to reduce the impact of air pollution, improve river water quality and create new wildlife habitats.

Harvey Van-Geffen, aged 20 from Barrowford, volunteered to plant trees at Lomeshaye Nature Reserve in Nelson. He said:

“This has been my first tree planting experience and I’ve really enjoyed it.

“Get out and plant a tree if you can! It’s about helping Pendle and helping the planet.”

Victoria Woods, also from Barrowford, has planted thousands of trees over the years and also joined the planting event at Lomeshaye, alongside Pendle Water.

“I’ve been planting trees since I was a kid. I love seeing the trees grow and creating new habitats for our wildlife to thrive”, said Victoria.

And another veteran tree planter, Hugh Lawrence, from Barnoldswick, said:

“Tree planting helps in the fight against climate breakdown. It also supports pollinators and gets people out of the house.”

Anyone inspired to get digging and planting, like Harvey, Victoria and Hugh have been doing, can visit Pendle Council’s website for details:  www.pendle.gov.uk/trees

Or you can email:  parks@pendle.gov.uk