Volunteers dig deep to plant Trees of Hope on King's Lynn land
A Lynn church group has been digging deep to continue its efforts to boost the town’s environment, despite the coronavirus restrictions.
Around 400 young trees, known as whips, were planted in the Kings Reach area yesterday, in the latest phase of the Trees of Hope initiative.
And organisers hope their efforts at the site off Anthony Nolan Road will inspire other communities to follow their lead.
The initiative, which is led by the town’s Churches Together group, aims to encourage large-scale tree planting in order to remove carbon from the atmosphere and help to tackle climate change.
However, unlike the initial planting event in February, which attracting around 150 people, this week’s exercise saw just 10 socially distanced volunteers taking part.
Rev Dan Tansey, from the Church in the Woottons, who led the team, said the move was necessary as they could not manage a crowd under the current Covid-19 regulations.
But he added: “Even with the smaller number of volunteers there was a wonderful sense of goodwill and the weather was a big improvement compared to the rain we experienced back in February.
“We really hope people will pick up on the concept in other parts of Norfolk and the country.
“We’d love to share our experiences with others who want to get something like this off the ground.”
The campaign is being supported by both the Woodland Trust and West Norfolk Council, whose staff helped with the planting and will support ongoing maintenance of the new woodland area.
Borough council deputy leader Elizabeth Nockolds added: “I’m delighted that this planting could go ahead, sticking to social distancing rules to keep everyone safe.
“It’s great that others acknowledge the need to plant trees which is also high on our agenda.
“We will take on the management of this new woodland and hope to continue to engage the local community in its guardianship.”
More information about the campaign can be found by searching for West Norfolk Trees of Hope on Facebook.