On Saturday 27^th February I helped plant Leicester’s 7,500^th new tree at Stocking Farm Community Centre. Young people from the local area, youth workers, and staff from the local Council and Primary Care Trust all joined in to get the flowering cherry tress in the ground (not as easy as it looks!).

We were encouraged by local Abbey ward Councillors Colin Marriott, Annette Byrne and Harshad Bhavsar and the lead Councillors for the Environment and Leisure, Sarah Russell and Andy Connelly. Afterwards there was lots of healthy fruit and salad to revive us – plus some warming tea and the odd treat! – provided by Leicester City PCT.

There’s 3.500 more trees to go before the Council meets its promise to plant 10,000 new trees across the City. I think they’ll make a big difference to local communities and residents, especially as we move into Spring – and the weather hopefully starts to improve!