Croydon Council is joining the National Street Tree Sponsorship Scheme, Trees for Streets. The scheme lets residents and businesses sponsor additional trees in Croydon’s streets and parks, over and above the council’s own planting programme, which has been radically curtailed due to the bankruptcy of the Council.
The five year capital tree planting programme which started in 2018 concentrated on the North of the borough. The South of the borough was supposed to receive attention in the latter part of the programme but unfortunately for Selsdon and elsewhere in the South, this will now not happen.
This new programme funded from central government offers an opportunity to repair some of the damage.
Those wanting to sponsor a street tree in their neighbourhood or a park can simply use the online platform to make a request to the council by providing a few simple details. The council then assesses the chosen location, and if it is suitable, arrangements will be made to plant a tree the following winter, which is the best time to plant young trees to ensure they thrive.
Individuals and groups are welcome to participate, and there are two options allowing for either the sponsor or council to be responsible for watering the tree, with the former being a lower-cost option.
Trees for Streets is a project by Trees for Cities, the national urban tree charity, and is funded by central government’s Green Recovery Challenge Fund. Its goal is to support the planting of more than a quarter of a million additional street trees nationwide over the next ten years, by supplementing council tree planting budgets.
Anyone who wishes to sponsor a tree can do so here.
The Trees for Streets scheme is an opportunity for both residents and local businesses to sponsor new trees in our streets and local parks. And, as part of this year's scheme Croydon is also being awarded additional monies for planting in high priority locations, by the Green Recovery Challenge Fund. I am not sure what is meant by high priority locations but in the past this has sometimes meant wards in the North of the borough.
Beyond donating money to sponsor a tree, there are lots of other ways for people to get involved.
Once each street tree is planted, it will require weekly watering throughout the summer for three years to give it the best chance of survival, and any litter or weeds will need to be removed.
More information can be found at www.treesforstreets.org
