Island residents are being offered free tree whips thanks to a partnership with the Isle of Wight Council’s Parks and Countryside team and Natural Enterprise’s Gift to Nature.
The giveaway of 500 trees is a pilot initiative – which will be done on a first-come, first-served basis – as part of the Council’s commitment to supporting biodiversity gain and net zero.
Species such as Crab apple, Wild cherry, Rowan, Hazel, Birch, Scots Pine, Beech, Hawthorn and Oak will be given away. Anyone with space available on their land to care for and grow a young tree can apply.
The whips will be unbranched young tree saplings of approximately 0.5-1.0m/1 foot 7 inches – 3 foot 3 inches in height and 2–3 years old.
To get your free tree, apply online at https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=B8c3UX1ZIEqjiUyRWpSgRR-IK6tgLxxHuFBrFQLVYSVUMEFaMFZFMTdYSjlIR081UEVORDVWNk9NVi4u. Paper application forms are also available from County Hall reception, Newport.
Organisations are asked not to apply through this process. Next year, the council plan to work with local organisations to plant more whips across the Island. Any organisations interested in being involved should email [email protected].
Councillor Jonathan Bacon, Cabinet member for environment said:
“We are pleased to be supporting this initiative along with Natural Enterprise’s Gift to Nature.
Article continues below this advertisement “We are committed to tackling climate change and reducing our carbon footprint and more tree planting is a key part of this, as outlined in our Climate and Environment Strategy.
“So, apply online and get a chance to receive a free tree and do your bit to tackle climate change.”
If your application is successful, whips will need to be collected between 10th-13th or 17th-20th January 2023.
For more information on the Isle of Wight Biosphere and the tree giveaway, visit www.iow.gov.uk/Council/OtherServices/IW-Biosphere/Isle-of-Wight-tree-giveaway.
Nice …
Probably to make up for all the tree’s that have been cut down to make way for all the rabbit hutches being built !!!!
What a pitifully lame gimmick. 500 native tree whips would cost about £250 at most from any supplier. What a truly feeble “attempt at tackling climate change”. The pointless application process is costing the council more than their outlay on saving the planet. Make 1000s available to anyone who comes to collect them to eliminate a redundant and expensive layer of bureaucracy. If they are all taken, buy some more. Get rid of some overpaid council workers to free up the cash. Just get out there and plant as many trees as possible. We will probably end up burning them for fuel when the inevitable societal collapse occurs but at least it would look like the council gives a damn,
Their idea is to displace the growing of food in the UK so it can be imported from, abroasd. They ignore the CO2 that produces so they can say “Look how green we are being”.
Great idea, they’ve been doing this in Wales for a while.
Applications already closed.
Yep, couldn’t get the link to work, tried again, all gone.
Should be thousands of trees not a pitiful few hundred.
We’ve planted over 50 saplings on our land at our own expense, just one freebie would have been nice.
And then the council looks for more land to build rabbit hutches on.
“Applications now closed” it says.
Don’t matter where you plant them they will be ripped up to make way for another housing estate.