Carlisle City Council celebrates national tree festival

(Date of issue: Thursday, 20 November 2008)

As part of National Tree Week (26 November – 7 December), local volunteers and school children will be helping Carlisle City Council plant more than 1,000 trees.

Organised by the Tree Council, National Tree Week is a festival to mark the start of the tree planting season and is a nation-wide celebration of trees and woodlands.

National Tree Week is a great chance for communities to do something positive for their local environment. Each year, organisations such as voluntary bodies and local authorities, up to 200 schools and community groups, and many others, support the initiative by setting up fun, worthwhile and accessible events, inspiring upward of a quarter of a million people to get their hands dirty and together plant around million trees.

The Countryside Section of Carlisle City Council have organised a number of events this year and have invited groups from schools, voluntary organisations and community groups to take part. The events will be held in three of the Nature Reserves and green spaces, which the Countryside section manages. The National Tree Week programme is as follows (please note that these events are not open to the general public):

• Wednesday, 26 November - 9.30am and 1.30pm - Kingmoor Nature Reserve with Austin Friars School, meeting at the end of Westmoor Road;
• Thursday, 4 December - 10am and 1pm - Cummersdale Holmes with Cumbria Care and James Rennie School, meeting at the end of Holme Head Way;
• Friday, 5 December –10am - Cummersdale Holmes with Cummersdale School, meeting by the Cummersdale path bike inhibitor; and
• Saturday, 6 December – 10am - Rickerby Park with the Carlisle Guides and the Houghton Guides, meeting in the riverside car park.

Around 1,700 trees, including Oak, Ash, Hawthorn, Blackthorn and Crab Apple trees, will be planted. For further details on the above events or for tips on how to plant your own trees contact Carlisle City Council on 01228 618552, or visit the Tree Council’s website - www.treecouncil.org.uk