Local school children and volunteers help plant 500 trees in Heaton Park
PRESS RELEASE & PHOTO OPPORTUNITY
10 February 2009
Local school children and volunteers help plant 500 trees in Heaton Park
On Friday 6 and Saturday 7 February local residents, volunteers and school children joined forces with leading environmental initiative Red Rose Forest and international charity Trees for Cities to plant 500 trees in Heaton Park.
Following on from three successful community tree planting projects this event forms part of the fourth urban challenge by Red Rose Forest and Trees for Cities in partnership with Manchester City Council to make Manchester a greener, healthier and happier place. Heaton Park is already a much loved and well kept site and this is an excellent opportunity to increase the number of trees in the area.
Over the two days more than 30 volunteers and 30 school children from Bowker Vale Primary School got stuck into to plant trees including Oak, Ash, Hawthorne, Holly, Birch and Bird Cherry. The trees will have a striking and dramatic effect on the park in years to come, bringing season colour, creating vital habitats for wildlife and complimenting the existing woodland in the park.
Sam Dow, Red Rose Forest said:
"We had a great response from local community and would like to say a big thank you to everyone who came out over the two days. Trees and green spaces are so important to urban areas and the new trees will do a lot to green up the local area, promoting biodiversity, improving air quality and encouraging a sense of well-being. Everyone had a great time digging in and getting active and can be really proud of their hard work"
This event is part of a series of activities taking place across Manchester in January and February which will see over 2000 new trees planted, helping to make Manchester a greener, healthier and happier city. The scheme has been made possible thanks to funding from Ye Olde Oak Ltd and through sponsorship raised by the 400 people who took part in Manchester first ever Tree-Athlon in October 2008.
David Coles, Sales Director of Ye Olde Oak Foods Ltd said:
"Ye Olde Oak is committed to the development of green spaces and community based tree planting projects. It's wonderful to team up with Trees for Cities to help them raise funds and create urban woodlands across Greater Manchester."
Photo captions: Volunteers and local residents (no details available; high res. versions available on request)
ENDS For media enquiries please contact Sally Mizon in the Press Office on: 0161 872 1660 or email:
Notes to Editors:
1. Red Rose Forest is a leading environmental regeneration initiative in Greater Manchester and is one of 12 Community Forests across England. We are a partnership of Natural England, the Forestry Commission and the Metropolitan Boroughs of Bolton, Bury, Trafford and Wigan and the Cities of Manchester and Salford. Over forty years we will help to transform a large part of Greater Manchester into a greener, healthier and more satisfying place to live, work and invest. At the heart of our strategy is the involvement of a wide partnership of local communities, businesses and other partners in the environmental, social and economic regeneration of the area. United Utilities is the principle private sector supporter of the Forest and together we have worked in a close partnership over the last 10 years.
2. Trees for Cities is an award-winning charity that plants trees and re-landscapes public spaces in urban areas of greatest need. The charity's vision is to stimulate a greening renaissance in cities around the world that will impact on global warming and beautify the urban landscape, as well as encouraging greater social cohesion through the active participation of local people. A special effort is made to involve children and young people in all of the projects. The public can get involved by registering as a volunteer, enrolling in training programmes, taking part in the Tree-Athlon and going to fundraising parties - see www.treesforcities.org for more information. Trees for Cities was recently awarded the Bank of America Neighbourhood BuilderTM Award in recognition of the impact the charity has made on local communities.
3. Ye Olde Oak Foods Ltd supplies a large range innovative and high quality Soups, hotdogs, hams and ready-to-eat meals in the United Kingdom and other European countries. As a result of our history, our many years of success and our British origin we have become one of the largest brands in canned meats. However, we continue to grow and adapt to the times. Constant innovation and developments ensure that we shall continue to surprise. Ye Olde Oak launched an instore promotional campaign in June 2008 to provide funding towards Trees for Cities regional planting projects across the UK. For more information see www.yeoldeoak.co.uk
