A variety of different sized trees – from whips just a few feet tall, to fruit trees, and trees up to ten feet tall – have been planted.
Hundreds of people, young and old, have been involved through planting events and improved community and green spaces across the city.
The effort means that over 12,000 trees have been planted across more than 100 sites since 2020, when the Plymouth and South Devon Community Forest was first launched.
“This winter’s planting schedule was ambitious but our teams have risen to the challenge and done an amazing job against some interesting weather,”
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said Councillor Tom Briars-Delve, Cabinet Member for the Environment and Climate Change.
“We know how important planting more trees is for our climate, and we know that residents really value them as well. That’s why I am especially pleased that so many have been planted with the help of residents and community groups.”
Highlights of the planting season were:
• 34 individual schemes delivered
• 340 standards planted
• 83 maiden fruit trees planted
• 3,758 whips planted
• 515m of new hedgerow planted
• 307 people, majority being children aged between three and 12 years old, actively engaged in tree planting and maintenance.
All of the new trees will form part of the Plymouth and South Devon Community Forest, (PSDCF) which spans the city and areas of the South Hams and Dartmoor.
Launched in September 2020, the PSDCF has facilitated the creation of over 171 hectares of new woodland throughout South Devon; that’s approx. 121,000 trees
Stretching from the South Devon coast to the rolling landscape of Dartmoor National Park, by April 2026 the PSDCF aim to have planted a further 300 hectares across its project area, creating a mosaic of orchards, hedgerows, areas of natural regeneration, native broadleaf, and productive woodland.
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Unlike traditional forests, the community forest won’t be geographically restricted to one place. Instead, it will encompass a mix of community woodland, private woodland, on street, urban woodland, wooded habitat corridors and hedgerows.
Most of the schemes delivered across the city are requested by and codesigned with residents and community groups.
The Plymouth and South Devon Community Forest is a partnership between Plymouth City Council, National Trust, Woodland Trust, Dartmoor National Park, Devon County Council, South Hams District Council and West Devon Borough Council, and is funded through the DEFRA Nature for Climate fund.
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Schoolchildren join SocieTree in planting Beaumont Park micro forest
