Environmental News With Stuart Checkley | Trustee: Street Trees for Living
“Tree Oscar” comes to Lewisham in 2020
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very year the Forestry Commission and the GLA jointly award prizes, known in the tree world as “Tree Oscars,” for the best tree projects in Greater London. It was announced on October 8th that Street Trees for Living had won the award in the category of “Best Community Tree Project in 2020.” Street Trees for Living is the charity which plants street trees in Lewisham. What impressed the judges was: 1) That by the end of this winter we will have planted 1000 street trees in Lewisham. 2) That of the trees we plant, only 5% fail to thrive. (For most Local Authorities failure rates are 30% or higher.) 3) The reason that our trees do so well is that local residents have paid for the trees and are watering them. We love our trees, we enjoy our trees and so of course we look after them. Established communities such as schools and resident associations plant trees, as well as informal groups of tree enthusiasts on a street, who meet up as a result of someone leafleting their street. Sometimes an individual resident will sponsor and water a tree. Local tree enthusiasts have a large say in the choice of species of tree, although the Council has the final say. Not everyone wants a tree outside their house, and so we only plant trees in front of a house where the resident has signed a “tree welcome” form. The most popular tree in SE23 is the pink flowering crab apple Malus Rudolph. Close up, the flowers are red, as are young leaves, the autumn crab apples and the young bark. But there are trees for every location, and on the very highest parts of Forest Hill you will find the Tamarisk Tree: this tree, which is usually found on cliff tops, is a magnificent sight in a storm. And on the sunny South facing
slopes, trees from hotter countries thrive, such as the Crepe Myrtle which this summer has flowered for the first time in Forest Hill. The Crepe Myrtle is one of the “future proofed” trees which will survive further climate change. Other trees are planted for autumn colour or winter berries, or other outstanding effects, such as the stunning white bark of the Himalayan Birch which can be enjoyed throughout the year. If you would like to help plant a tree in your street please contact: stuart@streettreesforliving.org if you live in Forest Hill madeleine@streettreesforliving.org if you live in Perry Vale. If you are interested in having a tree, please contact us as soon as possible, and certainly by the end of November. SE23 - November 2020 | 29
