We are almost at the total tree-planting target for our Tree for Every Child project, which is set to end next month.

When the project launched in November 2020 we pledged to plant 55,000 trees  – the equivalent of one per primary school child in the district.

With last week’s most recent planting session – at St Matthew’s Catholic Primary School in Allerton – the total planted has reached approximately 48,000.

By the time the project ends, at the end of March 2023, 40 schools will have new orchards and 50 will have planted native trees.

Through the planting sessions, over 1,000 children and adults have been engaged in tree planting, with the work with schools including educating children about climate change, doing their bit to look after the planet and the multiple benefits of trees.

Cllr Sarah Ferriby, Portfolio Holder for Healthy People and Places, said: “Tree for Every Child has been such an exciting and fulfilling project for everyone involved. It has proved how children, young people and our wider communities can work together to achieve something amazing and valuable for our district and the climate.

“It has also been extremely heartening to see how enthusiastic and engaged people have been in giving up their time to help with the planting.”

Mel Frances, Senior Project Co-ordinator at Trees for Cities, said: "This partnership project has helped empower children to take positive action and experience the joy of tree planting in their schools, gardens and local communities. Hopefully, growing together with the trees they have planted will bring lifelong memories whilst providing new habitats for wildlife and helping to address the climate crisis on a local level."

There are four partners working with the council’s Trees and Woodlands team and Trees for Cities to deliver the project: Fruit Works Co-operative, Bradford Environmental Action Trust, Forest of Bradford (part of Bradford Environmental Service) and YORgreencic.

The Council has invested £250,000 into the programme and invited schools and community groups to express an interest in taking part. The programme is being supported by Trees for Cities which is funded by The Dulverton Trust, The Prince of Wales's Charitable Fund and The Arbor Day Foundation. As well as The players of the Postcode Lottery. 

At last week’s session at St Matthew’s Catholic Primary, pupils, families, staff, members of Bradford Environment Education Service (BEES) and a group of volunteers the National Science and Media Museum, took part in a week of planting in the grounds of the school. Pupils were also offered ‘takeaway trees’ to plant in their gardens at home.

Our Trees and Woodlands team is taking action to prevent the spread of a disease that can kill trees.

‘Larch Tree Disease’ or Phytophthora ramorum has hit a number of trees at St Ives Estate in Bingley. The Forestry Commission has issued a Statutory Plant Health Notice instructing us to remove the infected species within six months. 

The disease mostly affects larch and sweet chestnut but is also hosted by rhododendron and is highly infectious, causing ‘sudden death’ in trees. 

Clearing out the infected trees will prevent it spreading to other commercial forest plantations.  Invasive rhododendron, which is a host for the disease, will also be cleared at the same time, as part of a plan to regenerate the ancient native woodland which dates back to the early 19^th Century.

The work will be carried out at the western side of the estate, between Coppice Pond and Keighley Road known as Lady Blantyre’s Wood.  Some trees will also be removed from Bingley St Ives Golf Club to the north.  Felling will begin on 1 March and is expected to be completed by 1 September 2023.

Specialist contractors will handle the trees which will be sent away for processing into saw logs, fencing and woodchip. 

Some areas of the estate will need to close when machines are operating.

The Keighley Road entrance will be closed Monday to Friday to visitors and through traffic, but will be open at weekends.  The free car parking at the Keighley Road side and the pay and display at Coppice Pond will not be available until the works are completed.  The Bingley Road entrance free parking and pay and display at Low Park, Play Area and golf club public car parking will operate as normal.

The footpaths and bridleways running through Lady Blantyre’s Wood and Coppice Pond will be closed Monday to Friday while the work is in progress. No disruption to golfers on the estate is expected.

The larch trees were planted in the late 1940s to replace trees lost during two world wars and to help the UK meet its future needs for timber. St Ives was first struck with the disease in 2014 when Betty’s Woodland was cleared.  This area was restocked with both planted and naturally regenerating native trees.

The estate’s woodlands will eventually be converted from conifer plantations back to native broadleaved woodland, similar to the early 19^th Century.  This will also involve removing the blanketing rhododendron cover, as it supresses native plants and is a host to the disease which can affect bilberry.  

Native woodland supports more bird and animal life and is more suitable for this type of landscape.  The carbon captured in the felled trees will be locked away in construction timbers while the new trees will carry on the work of absorbing carbon from the atmosphere. 

Last month we included a story on the Bradford Climate Symposium originally scheduled for Friday 3 February. This has now been moved to Monday 27 February.

The event, running from 10am to 4pm at Bradford Cathedral, will look at how the arts and culture sector in Bradford District can do more to tackle climate change.

The event will include discussions, speakers from creative industries and performances from local, national and international artists. This includes Yasmeen Lari – Pakistan’s humanitarian ‘architect for the poor’, Naho Mirumachi from Kings Water Hub, talking about the water crisis.  Sufi musician Sarah Yaseen  will explore faith and climate in conversation with Bradford Cathedral and Eco-Sikh UK. Also on the agenda are Adjei Sun, BBC 1xtra’s Future Figure 2022 and writer and former Young Poet Laureate Selina Nwulu.

Climate-related case studies will be presented from organisations across the UK, including Kew Gardens, Factory International, Arts Catalyst and Invisible Dust.

For more information see the web page or book a free place via Eventbrite.