Trees bring huge environmental and ecological benefits to our city, and during the pandemic we’ve come to appreciate nature and wildlife more than ever. Leicester’s woodland has more than doubled in the past few decades – the city’s tree canopy has increased from around 40 hectares in the 1980s to 107 hectares today. The city’s commitment to increasing its tree cover even gained royal recognition in December, when Leicester became one of the first ‘Champion Cities for The Queen’s Green Canopy‘.

Last week, Liz’s constituency team and her MP representative, Sarah Russell, were out in Western Park with Leicester Environmental Volunteers, helping to create new wooded areas by planting a range of native saplings – including oak,  hornbeam and guelder rose, all species which will really benefit the city’s wildlife for decades to come. 

The volunteers were also repairing and replacing recently-planted saplings which sadly had been either damaged or stolen in the past few weeks.

Leicester Environmental Volunteers work with individual volunteers as well as schools and businesses, running a wide variety of volunteer sessions year-round across the city. Everyone is welcome to join the sessions, and getting involved is a really rewarding way  help your local community and support wildlife.

For more details of Leicester Environmental Volunteers and how to sign up, see the Leicester City Council website: Environmental volunteering (leicester.gov.uk)