OVER 6,000 TREES PLANTED FOR COMMONWEALTH FOREST
The first of around 6,500 trees have been planted in Wombourne as part of Severn Trent’s initiative to create 2022 acres of Commonwealth Forest across the Midlands. The 10 acres of new habitat is located at Severn Trent’s pumping station in the village.
As Birmingham 2022’s Official Nature & Carbon Neutral Supporter, Severn Trent is delivering a series of initiatives to leave a social and environmental legacy following the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. This work includes the creation of 2,022 acres of Commonwealth Forests, as well as 72 tennis-court-sized ‘Tiny Forests’ which are being created across theWest Midlands.
Integral to both initiatives is Ground Control – a maintenance business and biodiversity expert committed to enhancing and improving the physical environment. The company has partnered with Severn Trent to prepare each Commonwealth Forest and Tiny Forest site for planting.
The carbon neutral company offers a wide range of services that include landscape construction, woodland creation, and grounds maintenance amongst others, and volunteers from the business joined the local community and volunteers from Severn Trent in planting trees at The Bratch on Monday and Tuesday
Liv Garfield, CEO of Severn Trent, said: “Our Commonwealth Forest planting days have been a huge success so far and we are delighted to use our own land to host a 10-acre site that will create a new habitat for both communities and nature to enjoy.
“With GroundControl’s strong commitment to sustainability, they’re an ideal partner to work with for thisfantastic project that will play a huge part in Birmingham 2022 delivering a carbon neutral legacy for generations to come.
“These new green spaces feature native UK grown broadleaf species and will live on long past the games for future generations to enjoy as a space where biodiversity and nature can thrive and flourish.”
Jason Knights, Managing Director of Ground Control said: “We are proud to be working with Severn Trent and local volunteers on such a poignant tree planting initiative. At Ground Control, we have set ourselves an ambitious target to plant one million trees by 2025. It’s initiatives like this that give meconfidence that we’ll reach our target sooner rather than later.”