WHEN WILL THE TREES BE PLANTED?

We are planning to plant the trees in November and December 2023.

Interested in tree planting with us at Horsenden Hill on Saturday 2nd December 2023? Sign up here.

WHAT TREES ARE WE PLANTING AND WHY?

Horsenden Hill is the largest single nature conservation site within the borough at 100 ha, located in North Greenford ward. This is a beautiful site with three distinctive sections: Horsenden East contains large areas of woodland, with smaller patches of grassland. Horsenden West is bordered by the Grand Union Canal and contains a mosaic of wildflower meadows, hedgerows and ponds. On the southern side of the canal lies Paradise Fields comprising scrapes, reed beds and lagoons offering a peaceful haven for wildlife and visitors alike.

Locklear’s Wood is in an area that borders the Grand Union Canal on the south site and a high value wildflower meadow to the north. The area itself is on the footprint of a Victorian canal side tip. The site is named Locklear’s Wood after a man who made a home for himself on the site, planting veg, pruning apple trees, and even creating a makeshift pond. He passed away in 2020.

The planting we will be doing at Locklear’s Wood is a continuation of the work that Trees for Cities started last year. Until planting began last year, a large portion of the area was dominated by invasive, non-native Japanese knotweed. The project saw clearance of the area and treatment of the Japanese knotweed, as well as the planting of around 3000 whips.

This year, we plan to continue to rejuvenate the area by planting up to 3000 whips to create high value woodland and replacing the areas of invasive, non-native Japanese knotweed. This will help contribute towards the Ealing Council’s aim to increase canopy cover to 25% by 2030 and to plant 50,000 trees by 2026.

You can see our design and species list via the links below.

If you have any questions please contact our Senior Community Engagement Coordinator John at johnk@treesforcities.org