On the 2nd December 2023, the Friends of Hodge Hill Common and Birmingham TreePeople teamed up to plant a new tree on Coleshill Road. We planted a beautiful semi-mature tree for Tree Week, even though the winter frost had just set in!
Simon Needle transported the new sweet gum to the planting location using the Treeycycle. This is a low emission electric bike that kept the carbon footprint of the tree even lower! BTP and FOHHC spent a sweet and frosty afternoon working together to put a new tree in the ground, that will grow with vivid colours.
The event garnered many member of the friends group, members of BTP, and the general public. We pulled together to have a go at digging the planting hole, but the children really got stuck in! Lisa Hodge welcomed the tree with a mindful welcoming ceremony with the group, becoming one with the tree. After which the children showed us old’ens how it’s done by back-filling the hole!
Katy Hawkins gave an informative and creative talk about the benefits and characteristics of the liquidambar, passing a leaf around for everyone to smell the sweet scent of the sweet gum. She ended by giving everyone a scroll to remember to come back and water the tree. Watering our trees, taking care of them, is just as important as planting them. We hope that Hodge Hill enjoys and cares for the new piece of nature on their doorstep.
Thank you to Urfaan and Genny, who organised the refreshments, Katy and Lisa for hosting the ritual, and Simon and Tonia for transporting the tree and equipment. A HUGE thanks to everyone who attended the event; we hope you loved it as much as we did. What a lovely day to remember!
All photos taken with permissions.