Planting for the future - tree and hedge planting events

Local environment groups are organising tree and hedge planting events over the next few weeks. New volunteers are always welcome - you can bring your children or grandchildren too. Major tools are provided.

Wapley Bushes Conservation Group has work mornings on Sunday 18 February (this coming Sunday) and Saturday 17 March. Volunteers will be planting a mixture of native trees in the main woodland as part of a three-year planting project. They will also be pruning the local variety fruit trees and doing a litter pick - there are different types of work to suit everyone.

Meet at the Shire Way entrance to the woodland, south Yate, BS37 8US, 10.00am. Please wear stout footwear, and bring gloves and a pair of secateurs if you have them. The Wapley Bushes Local Nature Reserve blog has lots of information about Wapley and other local wildlife events.


Lilliput Conservation Group will be planting short lengths of hedge and drifts of bulbs in Lilliput Park on Saturday 24 February and Tuesday 6 March, plus tidying up the hedgerows and planting and litter picking. Again there is something for everyone, and you can work at your own pace.


Meet at the Kingfisher Road gate at 10.00 am. Please wear stout footwear, and gloves if you have them. You can check out the Lilliput Conservation Group on Facebook for more information.

Turn your Christmas cards into trees

The Woodland Trust is again running a "cards for trees" campaign with Marks and Spencer - you can drop your Christmas cards into the recycling bins in local M&S branches. For every 1,000 cards dropped for recycling throughout January, a new tree will be planted in the UK.

Last year more than 8 million cards were collected, funding more than 8,000 trees throughout the UK.

Three years ago local volunteers planted 400 Woodland
Trust trees at Wapley Bushes Local Nature Reserve

Update 12/01/2015:  M&S at Yate haven't got a box for people to put the cards in, but you can hand them to a staff member at the Customer Service / Collection desk just inside the door. I did that this morning - Editor.

Recycling Christmas trees

If you have a real Christmas tree, South Glos Council say there are a number of ways you can recycle it when the festivities are over:

• If you have subscribed to the garden waste service you can put your real Christmas tree in your green bin for kerbside collection on your collection day. Please cut the tree into manageable pieces and make sure the tree is not wedged into the bin.
• You can buy a single use garden waste sack for £2 from your nearest South Gloucestershire library. Please attach the sack to the tree and leave out for collection on your bin collection day (you don’t need to worry about cutting the tree to fit it in the sack).
• You can also recycle your tree at one of South Gloucestershire’s four Sort It centres. 

Please remember to remove all decorations, pots and stands before recycling your Christmas tree. Recycled trees will be processed with the rest of South Gloucestershire’s garden waste and turned into fertiliser and mulch. To check your collection day please visit www.southglos.gov.uk/localconnection