The first UK Tree Cities Forum took place on the 11th June 2024 in the University of Birmingham’s The Exchange, seeing a menagerie of expert speakers take to the podium to discuss The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and Arbor Day Foundation’s Tree Cities of the World programme. From councils all over […]
Birmingham lost its long serving parks director – Darren Share – last Christmas, when he made the career move to take over as the Director of The Royal Parks. This was probably the only move that was a promotion from the multi-award-winning Brum Parks. Darren is involved in producing a comprehensive tree strategy, that binds […]
Katy Hawkins ran a tree-lated story workshop, alongside Nechells POD, under the canopy of Bloomsbury Park trees on 30th May. Synthia, local storyteller, assisted Katy with the workshop and also spun an enthralling yarn, in between tree activities! The sun beamed down in between light showers, under the gazebo with warm blankets, exchanging knowledge and […]
Urban Tree Festival: Tree Equity Online Seminar The Woodland Trust kindly invited us to speak at their Tree Equity seminar, as part of the Urban Tree Festival 2024. After Paul Wood from Urban Tree Festival introduced the Tree Equity seminar as part of the wider festivities, Adam Cormack from The Woodland Trust introduced Tree Equity […]
Urban trees are now widely recognised for the array of ecosystem services and benefits that they provide. Politically, trees have risen a long way up the agenda. They are now at the forefront of tools in the fight against climate change, loss of biodiversity, air quality, the Urban Heat Island effect, flooding etc. There is […]
Street Trees in Sparkbrook Our urban forest volunteers have been working diligently to survey the 3,000 street trees during the funded project this year, so Meena Haynes (one of our innovative volunteers) has devised her own tool to help her in her local area: an incredibly useful 1.5m plywood measuring stick, like a giant ruler. […]
Tonia Clark, Birmingham TreePeople’s current Chair, has been continuing her relationship with Eden Project Communities, by hosting another session with them identifying buds, at Birmingham Settlement Nature & Wellbeing Centre on 27th April, in Edgbaston. Tonia ran this 3rd seminar on identifying the difference between tree buds and flowers, finding out which buds become flowers, […]
Happy Earth Day! Tonia Clark, BTP Chair, Lawrence Weston our newest Trustee, and Julianne Statham, Trustee for Treemembrance, attended the Earth Day celebrations (and Earth Month throughout April) at Weoley Castle again this year, on Saturday 20th April (for Earth Day on 22nd April). To celebrate Earth Month and Day, many groups and activists from […]
Steve Watson (Trustee) is also a member of Martineau Gardens, that’s why he and Katy Hawkins, our Engagement Officer, attended their Spring festivities on the 20th April. On a bright, sunny day, hordes of people from all over Birmingham and beyond enjoyed a jamboree of events, including Morris Dancing, bands, and fete games. The many […]
We held another creative arts and crafts session at Nechells POD this Wednesday 17th, decorating watering cans to promote the aftercare and watering of the newly planted local trees. Katy Hawkins, Engagement Officer, hosted this with a theme in mind: each of the three tables were dedicated to one of the new tree species on […]
Ian McDermott took the L2 Arboriculture class out, for their final session on Tree Inspection, on Saturday 13th April. He hosted the class in Handsworth Park, where the Sons of Rest has recently received a new tribute mural to a prominent Birmingham figure, painted by Bunny Bread. The memorial was revealed the following day in […]
Nina Griffiths, BTP Trustee for Street Trees, held another survey session on Sunday 7th April. Not allowing Storm Kathleen to blow in and ruin our entire day, Nina and the other surveyors came for the morning session and surveyed the 10 trees in the area that were on the list (there were more, but a […]
About 20 people came along to the nature walk around Edgbaston Reservoir, with Friends of Edgbaston Reservoir, on Saturday 30th March for Easter. Lovely sunny day, the group spotted flora, fauna and funga on the interesting north side of the Local Nature Reserve. The Reservoir has a relatively recent history and is an early part […]