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Trees for Climate is part of the nationwide Government-led ‘Nature for Climate’ fund, a woodland creation programme which is taking place across England's Community Forests. Trowbridge's bid was the second phase of the Trowbridge Green Thread project that has been led by Mel Jacob, chair of the leisure services committee, over the last few years. The project is connected with the Greener Trowbridge Strategy and saw more than 270 trees planted around the town in Spring 2024, and another 130 trees and thousands of whips planted already in April.
READ MORE: 'Beautiful' Trowbridge tree removed despite petition The trees and whips are planted in parks, allotments and green spaces like Biss Meadows, Paxcroft Brook Open Space and the Sensory Garden as well as fruit trees for The Mead School and Castle Mead School. Cllr Mel Jacob said: “Trowbridge Green Thread is a project that celebrates the amazing green spaces around Trowbridge and aims to enhance the town with more trees.” “Not only will trees make our environment better for residents but they also create better habitats for wildlife.
“The project is called The Green Thread because it is a link to the heritage of the town and the mills and weaving industry that Trowbridge is famous for. Weaving a green thread of planting and trees around our town is a great way to make Trowbridge a more pleasant place for everyone. “We have had some difficulty with damage to trees planted in Phase 1, therefore we have got bigger and better tree guards for the trees in Phase 2.
“We wanted to plant many more trees in urban areas but we were unable to get permissions from land owners to plant in all the places suggested and hoped for by residents.” SEE ALSO: Western Forest: 20 million trees to be planted through Wiltshire The provision and protection of trees in Trowbridge has come under scrutiny in recent months. In February, town councillor Glyn Bridges hit out at the decision to fell a whitebeam tree as part of Wiltshire Council's works to transform the town centre.
However, this latest arboreal news in the town follows on the heels of the announcement that the first new national forest in more than 30 years will span across Wiltshire, among other regions. The Western Forest is set to feature 20 million trees by 2050, with at least 2,500 hectares of new woodland and other tree habitats being planted in the first five years. The huge forest will cover parts of Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and the West of England (Bristol, Bath & NE Somerset, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset).
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