Plymouth Community Homes and Plymouth and South Devon Community Forest plant 957 trees in exciting partnership

Over the last eight years, Plymouth Community Homes (PCH) has worked in partnership with Plymouth and South Devon Community Forest (PSDCF) to help plant more trees in the green spaces around our homes and neighbourhoods.

To date, PSDCF has facilitated the planting of 957 trees at over 20 PCH sites, funded by the ‘Trees for Climate’ fund as part of the Department for Environment, Food, & Rural Affairs (Defra) ‘Nature for Climate’ fund. During this year’s planting season, a total of 51 large trees were planted across Henderson Place (7 trees), Queen Street (3 trees), Pentamar Street (10 trees), Devonport Hill (5 trees) and Albert Road (26 trees).

Through the partnership, a mixture of trees have been planted on PCH land, including mostly native deciduous broadleaf, with considerations over their longevity, canopy size, aesthetics, climate resilience and appropriateness for planting in urban areas. Tree species include small-leaved lime, hawthorn, hornbeam, silver birch, Norway maple, wild cherry, oak, ginkgo, loquat, and beech.

Starting in October 2024, the Communities team and Arboriculturist at PCH have been working with Green Communities through their new partnership with PSDCF to help deliver community engagement in urban communities.

Green Communities is a project to connect people and wildlife in Devonport, Central Park, Keyham and the west of the city. Each of the three nature neighbourhoods have a team made up of a National Trust Ranger and Plymouth City Council (PCC) officer who work in the community to listen how residents want to improve their green spaces and support them to make things happen.

Through this partnership, they delivered a range of consultation opportunities alongside the Communities Team at PCH at the sites which had already been identified for potential tree planting schemes by PSDCF and PCH, including Henderson Place, Ross Street & Pentamar Street, Albert Road, Queen Street.

Green Communities engaged with residents at drop-in events, through door knocking, posters around flats, emails to residents, and through providing information on the Green Communities website.

Residents were given the opportunity to share their feedback via a short google form, which included questions on tree preferences, other nature-based improvements, and their interest in getting involved with tree care. Alongside the google form, the tree planting designs were accompanied by a tree guide (created by Green Communities) to support residents in their decision making.

During this process, 222 residents were contacted via email, 48 people were engaged through drop-in events and door knocking, and 33 people submitted feedback and shared their tree planting ideas and preferences.

Overall, the feedback determined that Wild Cherry and Magnolia Grandiflora ‘Little Gem’ were the two favourite small trees and overall English Oak and Sweet Chesnut were the favourite two large trees. It was also discovered that 1/3 of people were keen to learn more about trees and how to care for them and over 50% of people ‘strongly agreed’ with the statement "I am taking time to notice and engage with everyday nature (eg. listening to birdsong)".

During the March planting sessions, a number of residents shared their feedback with Green Communities. This included:

• "It's lovely, what an improvement.”
• “I would be very happy to see trees planted around the flats in Albert Road. It would 'soften' the cityscape.”
• “I think trees being planted is a lovely idea, especially trees that will attract insects and birds. It would also be nice to be able to have somewhere to sit outside and maybe a section of the grassy area for wildflowers. When the weather permits some of the tenants like to sit outside so keeping some of the grassy area would be appreciated.”
• “Amazing idea. I am definitely all for more greenery especially to help the wildlife.”
• “Very excited and pleased to know projects of this kind are being supported in the local community.”

Joe Berryman, Arboriculturist at Plymouth Community Homes, said: “It has been another successful year of PCH working collaboratively with the Plymouth and South Devon Community Forest team which has led to the delivery of tree planting projects spread across a number of PCH's greenspaces.

“A good example of this is the project delivered at Devonport Hill Flats, which saw an area of relatively disused and bland grass area transformed into a much more inviting space, in which five Himalayan Birch trees were planted, along with an understorey of numerous Dogwood shrubs, which will ensure the site is visually appealing during the not-so-sunny season, whose eye-catching red bark doesn't go unnoticed and provides some winter colour.

“To enhance this area further and make it more inviting for residents and passersby seeking some respite from the harsher aspects of an urban environment, a comfortable bench has been funded and provided by the PSDCF project, with help from Plymouth Tree People, enabling this formerly barren space to be enjoyed in a new and novel way.”

Councillor Tom Briars-Delve, Cabinet Member for the Environment and Climate Change at Plymouth City Council, said: "It has been an incredible year for tree planting in our city thanks in no small part to the cooperation of large landowners and partners like PCH.

"This is what the Plymouth and South Devon Community Forest is all about; providing trees and the many benefits they contribute for everyone across the city, no matter who owns the land they are planted on.

"I look forward to seeing these trees grow in the years to come and becoming a fixture for generations of people and wildlife to enjoy."