A community-led tree-planting project to honour one of Birmingham’s greatest social reformers has been launched.
The George Cadbury legacy centennial project will see members of the community work with Bournville Village Trust (BVT) to identify sites where three to four trees a year will be planted.
This will be in addition to the 18 to 22 trees that BVT plant every year as part of its tree replacement programme.
The trees will be planted across the BVT-managed estate in south Birmingham which covers areas of Bournville, Selly Oak, Shenley, Northfield and Weoley.
As part of the project, community gardens will also be created with fruit trees and other produce for communities to harvest and eat.
To launch the project, a beautiful oak tree was planted on Bournville Village Green.
Warren Davies, Grounds Maintenance Service Manager at Bournville Village Trust, said: “We are really pleased to plant this oak which will be the first of many trees we will plant across the estate.
“George Cadbury cared deeply about the environment and communities, so planting trees in partnership with local people, like the Friends of Bournville, will be a great way to honour his legacy.”
Ray Barrett, from Friends of Bournville, said: “Bournville is one the greenest villages in the UK due to George Cadbury’s environmental awareness and his desire for everyone to have access to green space, so it was felt that planting this oak in his memory marking his legacy centennial is the best way to remember him into the next one hundred years.
“It is hoped that this tree will be the seed if you like to generate a new green initiative across Bournville, with flower or vegetable gardens around them, creating an estate wide, wild woodland trail and making estate involvement greener and interactive for everyone.”
The project follows several other BVT initiatives to maintain environmentally sustainable places in the neighbourhoods it works.
These include the planting of 600 trees to develop a tiny forest in Weoley Hill parkway and 300 trees in the ‘secret garden’ close to Kingfisher Way as well as the creation of a wildflower meadow in Weoley Hill Parkway which attracts bees and butterflies.
BVT has also worked with Birmingham City Council and ESB Energy to install a rapid electric vehicle charger at Shenley Green shops to support sustainable travel and cut carbon.