At a meeting of Bridgnorth Town Council on Tuesday evening (20th August) Bridgnorth Town Council voted to sign up to the Tree Charter developed by the Woodland Trust. The motion was the idea of Councillor Carol Whittle. It commits the Council to working towards 10 principles that will encourage the Council to more consciously consider the benefit of trees and hedgerows and their appropriate management.
The 10 Principles:
– Sustain landscapes rich in wildlife
– Plant for the future
– Celebrate the power of trees to inspire
– Grow forests of opportunity and innovation
– Protect irreplaceable trees and woods
– Plan greener local landscapes
– Recover health, hope and wellbeing with the help of trees
– Make trees accessible to all – Combat the threats to our habitats
– Strengthen our landscapes with trees.
Councillor Carol Whittle commented: “As Bridgnorth Town Council has previously recognised ‘the climate change emergency’ and recently published information has suggested that a billion trees planted worldwide would halt the effects of climate change, adopting The Tree Charter would reinforce the Town Council’s determination to make positive changes where possible in our efforts to move towards being carbon neutral.
“The Woodland Trust is running a campaign that allows community groups, schools and councils to bid for free trees and shrubs. I am delighted that my colleagues around the table were supportive of the motion. I do appreciate that many of the principles in the charter are already part of normal business for the Town Council. However, formalising that work through adopting the Charter is helpful and focuses the mind as well as raising the profile of the Woodland Trust’s efforts.”
Further details of the Tree Charter can be found on www.nalc.gov.uk and treecharter.uk
