222FOR2022

This year we are setting our community a target: plant 222 trees for 2022. This project was designed for anyone willing to plant a small tree in their garden. Click here to see how some of the small trees are doing.

The reasons we asked people to plant trees are:

  • Trees look good and will produce blossom and fruit for beneficial insects and birds;
  • They provide shelter for small birds and bugs that are useful for your garden
  • When they grow, trees absorb carbon dioxide, so, in a small way they reduce our carbon footprint
Friends of Evington Logo

This project has been fund by Friends of Evington from a grant provided to them by the National Lottery Community Award – People and Pollinators.

Lottery Community Fund Logo

Update: Since publishing this page, we have achieved our target of giving away 222 trees in 2022. In fact, so far our total is 241. We have since edited the rest of this page to reflect this update. To see some images of how some of the the trees are doing, click here.

We offered people a range of free, small trees (while stocks last – stocks have now run out!) including crab apple, hazel and bird cherry. These trees were chosen because they are native trees that provide blossom, fruit and shelter for birds, bees, butterflies and many other beneficial insects. They will grow quite quickly but, to keep them smaller, they are easily controlled, by pruning once every winter.

Trees were delivered as small bare-root plants, up to 60cm high. They needed to be planted immediately or stored in a pot of damp soil. After one year, they will be about double their initial size.

Bird Cherry tree one year after planting
Bird cherry tree one year after planting
Blossom on young crab apple tree
Blossom on young crab apple tree
Sunflowers in hedgerow
Two-year-old bird cherry and crab apple

Bit of info: your tree will absorb about 6 kilograms of carbon dioxide a year over the first ten years of growing. After that, it will absorb more – around 10kg per year. This means that by 2050, your tree will have absorbed about 240kg, which is about a quarter of a tonne.

If all 222 trees grow well for 28 years, our community will have absorbed about 55 tonnes of carbon – not a small amount!