An unused stretch of land is set to grow into a sustainable green space in Stalybridge after hundreds of trees were planted in a day.
A total of 350 native UK trees were scattered and sowed to create a new pocket of woodland at Cambridge Street as part of a partnership by Jigsaw Homes Tameside and Greater Manchester’s tree planting movement, City of Trees.
The charity aims to plant millions of trees and restore local green spaces and woodlands for the people who live, work and play in Greater Manchester, all in the face of the climate emergency.
Jigsaw Homes own the land in Stalybridge where a mix of wild cherry trees, silver birches, sessile oaks and many other species of tree have been planted.
The local community gathered up their shovels and chipped in to help, with local councillors Adrian Pearce and Jan Jackson volunteering their time to get stuck into the project.
The project was funded by City of Trees as part of the Northern Forest scheme. This scheme aims to plant 50 million trees across the North of England as a way to encourage nature recovery, fight climate change and flooding and make people across the North happier and healthier.
Jigsaw matched this funding through their provision of manual labour by the Grounds Maintenance team who helped to volunteer with the planting.
Councillor Adrian Pearce said: “I welcome the partnership between City of Trees and Jigsaw Homes bringing tree planting to this site. It makes for a better local environment, now and for the next generation.”
Rosie McEwing, Project Officer at City of Trees, said: “Our partnership with Jigsaw has resulted in 350 trees being planted at Cambridge Street. This is part of the Northern Forest scheme, which aims to plant 50 million trees by 2032, in a band stretching from Liverpool to Hull. A big thanks to everyone who came out today to help us get trees in the ground, it all makes a massive difference!”
Gary Power, Grounds Maintenance Manager at Jigsaw Homes Tameside added: “It was a successful and enjoyable experience for Grounds Maintenance Tameside working in partnership with City Of Trees. This was a great project for our team to be involved in and contributes to our commitments within the Groups’ Sustainability Strategy.”
Residents are being asked to vote on the name for the woodland space via Jigsaw Homes Tameside’s Facebook page.
