“The planting season of 2021/22 has been fantastic for Camden Forest and we are delighted to be able to tell you that we have already achieved our original target of planting 2025 trees by the year 2025.” Here are some highlights of their great work:
An apple tree for the teacher and pupils
Thanks to generous funding from KOKO (which owns the music venue at the bottom of Camden High Street) we have been able to give 27 sturdy apple trees to Camden Schools: Regent High, Acland Burghley Brecknock, Torriano, New End, Northbridge House, Parliament Hill, St Mary’s, Fleet, St Michael’s, UCL Academy, Fleet, Our Lady’s, Brookfield, St Eugene’s and Camden School for Girls.
Planting fruit trees in school playgrounds doesn’t just provide beauty, shelter, shade and wonderful learning opportunites – these apple trees are also part of Camden Beeline, a community project that aims to increase green space and biodiversity across the Borough of Camden by creating a connected pollinator pathway of trees and plants. It you would like your school to get involved get in touch at: https://camdenbeeline.org.uk/contact/
Looking after newly-planted trees
The Camden Council Tree Department has sent the following message:
We encourage everyone to help us water all newly planted trees in the borough to help them establish in their new home. To help water, please use the irrigation bag and pour water into the hole on the bag above the new “help water me” sticker. The bag will slowly release the water into the soil over 3-6 hours. Instruction on how to use a watering bag can be found on the Council Website page Planting and Watering.
Communi-trees
At the beginning of April we had a fantastic day planting trees with residents on two Camden estates in our pilot Communi-tree project. KOKO funded the planting of 10 trees on the Goldington Estate in Somers Town and another 9 on the Peckwater Estate in Kentish Town. Two young residents – our new Camden Foresters, will be paid to water the newly planted trees on an on-going basis. We are really excited about this project as it not only increases biodiversity on our estates, but creates youth enterprise and connection with nature. We are looking to role out this project to other estates this autumn. If you live on an estate in Camden and would like to plant some Communit-trees and have teenage residents paid to water them, get in touch.
Hedgerows
We know we don’t have to tell you how great trees are, but did you know that hedges have an important role in purifying air, as well as providing corridors for wildlife to move around our city. It’s also sometimes much easier to find places to plant hedgerows along existing fences and walls than larger stand-alone trees. So on March 15th pupils from UCL Academy joined in digging, and planted a hedgerow of 200 whips around the corner of Avenue Road in Swiss Cottage. A 100m long mixed hedge with native species such as hawthorn, beech, hornbeam and dog rose can absorb large amounts of of CO2 per year and this newly-planted hedge will continue to help improve immediate air quality here for many years to come.
Farmers, Firemen and Journalists
With all this planting going on it might seem that there isn’t much space left in our borough so we are always delighted to find new opportunities for places to grow our forest. This year we have continued to distribute tree whips at Framers’ Markets, as well as planting 30 trees behind the offices of the Camden New Journal in Camden High Street, and whips and larger trees in the yard of the Fire Station on Highgate Road.
Keep in Touch
When the Australian city of Melbourne started assigning email addresses to help monitor its 70,000 trees they didn’t expect what happened next. Instead of using the addresses simply to report damage, disease and other concerns, people started writing directly to the trees complimenting them on their beautiful leaves, thanking them for the shade they provide in summer and wishing them ‘good luck with the photosynthesis.’
We know that Camden Foresters care as deeply about the trees you have planted because you write and tell us. We love to hear from you, so please continue sending photos and stories about your trees to https://camdenforest2025.wordpress.com/contact-us/
or share a picture online using the #CamdenForest and tweet or tag us.
Would you, your business or employer like to support Camden Forest? Get in touch if you want to help us plant more trees next season and expand the Camden Forest! Email: pete@thinkanddocamden.org.uk.
You can see all the trees that you have planted on the our tree map at https://camdenforest2025.wordpress.com/map-of-trees/
and all of the Borough’s street trees at
https://www.camden.gov.uk/trees#taiz (sadly, they don’t have their own web addresses, yet).
Dates for your Diary
Sunday 1 May 11am – 1pm:
Free May Day morning tour of wild garden areas of Waterlow Park, Highgate N6. Meet inside the upper entrance on Dartmouth Park Hill opposite St. Joseph’s Church. With Rita Drobner, Biodiversity Lead for Friends of Waterlow Park, we’ll be visiting wildflower and grass meadows, a restored bog garden, lakes and woodland gardens and learning about these different habitats and why they are so important to include in urban parks. We are pleased to confirm that rumours you have may have read on social media about the park being privatised are completely unfounded.
Mondays, 5pm-6pm:
We are at the Greening Your Footprint garden, Kentish Town Fire Station every Monday 5pm-6pm. Pop along and see how the trees are thriving.
Planting for 2022 is now over until November when tree planting can begin again when the trees are dormant. Please keep watering your tree in dry weather, especially if it is in a pot.