With concerns about our warming climate brought into sharp focus this week by record-breaking temperatures, eco-conscious Ruddingtonians may be pleased to hear that we can now apply for more FREE trees this summer.
For the fifth year running, Rushcliffe Borough Council (RBC) is offering residents the chance to make our properties greener without charge. It’s part of the authority’s stated strategy “to provide sustainable environments in line with the Borough’s significant housing and employment growth in the coming years”. This is certainly the case for Ruddington, where hundreds of new homes are currently being built on our former Green Belt, with potentially many more to come.
RBC’s Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Communities and Climate Change, Cllr Abby Brennan {pictured}, says: “We are delighted to be running the free tree scheme again, after a wonderful response from residents since the scheme was launched in 2018. They have shown great enthusiasm in collecting and planting thousands of these free trees and we thank them for their continued support to making Rushcliffe a great and greener place to live.”
She adds: “We hope that by increasing the number of trees in the Borough, our green environments will grow alongside our communities, improving the quality of life for both current and future residents.”
The Council reveals it has distributed over 9,000 trees since the start of its initiative five years’ ago. Now a further 1,600 field maple and hazel trees are being made available without charge for those who live in the Borough.
The Field Maple or Acer Campestre {top left} can grow to 20m tall, with flowers in spring and winged papery fruit in late summer and autumn colour. It grows best in fertile, moist but well-drained soil in full sun or part shade.
The Hazel or Corylus Avellana {top right}can grow to 12m tall, it has yellow male catkins in early spring, followed by edible nuts in autumn. It likes moist but well-drained soil in full sun or part shade.
All the trees will be around two years old and approximately 60-90 cm (2-3 feet) high on delivery.
Successful applicants will have trees delivered direct to their door by Streetwise – with the volume of delivery trips minimised by the firm to make its carbon footprint as low as possible.
Householders are encouraged to apply as soon as possible, given the anticipated high demand, and can ask for up to two trees by visiting https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/trees2022 and submitting an application before September 30th.
Trees will then be delivered to addresses in Ruddington and beyond from December 2022 to February 2023.
