Tree planting by Royal assent

05 December 2023

Close up of a foot pushing a spade into the ground to plant a tree

Wirral Council has been successful with two bids to an environmental fund set up to celebrate the Coronation of King Charles III.

The Coronation Heritage Fund is being administered by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and made £2.5 million available for local authorities around the country to support tree planting projects in their area.

There are two strands for the fund and councils were able to apply for funding in both categories - Coronation Micro Woods, which encourages councils to plant miniature areas of rapidly establishing woodland in urban areas and Coronation Community Orchards, which provide grants to local people and groups to establish community orchards.

Wirral has been awarded £27,690 to plant five micro woodlands and £10,195 to create three orchards. Community planting events are planned for early 2024 for each of the projects to be funded through the scheme.

Micro woodlands will be planted at :-

Upton Park
Arrowe Park
Mount Road Greenspace
Dibbinsdale LNR
Townfield Lane

Orchards will be planted at :-

Townfield Lane
Kempson Terrace
Heygarth Road Greenspace

To attend any of the community plantings for these schemes, or any of our other arranged tree planting days, register your interest online

Tree planting is an important part of our local response to the environment and climate emergency declared by Wirral in 2019. It contributes to the Council’s adopted Tree, Hedgerow and Woodland Strategy and supports The Mersey Forest Plan.

In Wirral we have an ambitious target of planting around 210,000 new trees in the borough over a 10-year period – effectively doubling Wirral’s tree canopy. Up to August 2023, there are more than 64,000 new trees in Wirral, many provided through community planting events across the borough such as the ones planned to deliver the Coronation Heritage Fund projects.

We are already in peak planting season - between November and March - so there will be many such events taking place where residents can help us towards our tree planting target.

Cllr Liz Grey, Chair of the Environment, Climate Emergency and Transport Committee

The Coronation Living Heritage Fund supported by £2.5m in funding has been made available through Defra’s £758m Nature for Climate Fund to allow county, unitary, metropolitan, London borough, district and city local authorities the chance to apply for up to two grants for projects ranging between £10,000 and £50,000. The funding will support the development of micro woods and community orchards and commemorate the King’s Coronation. Funds can be distributed across projects in their area.

Through the England Trees Action Plan and supported by the £758m Nature for Climate Fund Defra will help to transform the treescape and the forestry sector helping to put the UK on track to meet net zero targets, reverse the decline in nature and support economic growth.