Newington Green Action Group took part in the BBC's Breathing Places Tree O'Clock Tree Planting Event which contributed to the UN Environment Programme's Billion Tree Campaign.
This planting event took place during National Tree Week 2009 and was part of a national attempt to plant a record-breaking number of trees throughout the UK within just one hour. If the record is broken this national event will be entered into the Guinness Book of Records.
]]>Newington Green Action Group took part in the BBC's Breathing Places Tree O'Clock Tree Planting Event which contributed to the UN Environment Programme's Billion Tree Campaign.
This planting event took place during National Tree Week 2009 and was part of a national attempt to plant a record-breaking number of trees throughout the UK within just one hour. If the record is broken this national event will be entered into the Guinness Book of Records.
In order to be included in the event, all the trees had to be native species that are good at supporting wildlife and had to be planted between 11am and 12 noon on 5 December 2009.
With help and guidance from Patrick Richardson and Paul Fitzpatrick, 2 of Islington's Urban Foresters, NGAG volunteers planted 2 trees and a number of tree whips on Newington Green. The trees are varieties close to native species that natually grow in the Newington Green area.
We planted:
One Guinness Record has been Broken
At least one record has been broken, by a team of volunteers in Gransha Park, Derry, Northern Ireland. They managed to plant a record-breaking 26,422 trees in just one hour!
Overall, at least 230,000 native trees were planted by hand throughout the UK within the one hour. This does not break the world record but these trees will be a lasting legacy for generations to come which will enrich our environment and our lives, plus help a diversity of wildlife to flourish..
London Tree and Woodland Award
Congratulations to LB Islington, the overall winners of the Forestry Commission's London Tree and Woodland Award 2009 for their 'Excellence in Tree and Woodland work by a public body'.
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This is the first time that the Newington Green area has been entered for this award. The 30 new trees that NGAG planted around the area, the new planting on the Green itself, the voluntary work of Tree Carers and those people that planted up tree pits and put out window boxes, as in Winston Rd. have all contributed to our being given an Award of Merit.
]]>This is the first time that the Newington Green area has been entered for this award. The 30 new trees that NGAG planted around the area, the new planting on the Green itself, the voluntary work of Tree Carers and those people that planted up tree pits and put out window boxes, as in Winston Rd. have all contributed to our being given an Award of Merit.
We may well try entering for London in Bloom again next year, when the new planting on the Green itself has matured and filled out. It would be great if local residents and traders could also join in by planting up tree pits plus making window boxes, hanging baskets and planters, so that the local area is full of flowers.
NGAG will be having another bulb planting event on September 20th at 2.0pm, to create some Spring and Autumn displays on the Green with several varieties of our native flowers, which will aid biodiversity.
Islington is awarded Best in London Award and a Silver Medal in the Britain in Bloom Awards
Our congratulations go to LBI Islington, as the parks and lovely displays of flowers throughout the borough, including the hanging baskets around Newington Green, won Islington the 'Best in London' Award at the RHS London In Bloom Awards Ceremony in 2009. Subsequently, Islington was also given a Silver Medal in the Brtitain in Bloom Awards 2009.
]]>Alex Allardyce, Chair of the Newington Green Action Group and Annette Percy, Chair of the Trustees of Newington Green Unitarians each planted a Crab Apple tree on 22 February '09, as a conclusion to the 2008 anniversary celebrations of:
This was followed by a small reception in the Unitarian Church
The edible Crab Apple trees will also play their part in Newington Green Action Group’s ‘Wildlife in Newington Green’ (WING) project by supporting insect and bird populations and will complement the North side replanting of the Green, which has just commenced.
WING Nestbox Event
Alongside the Tree Planting event, NGAG held a very enjoyable Nestbox Event as part of their WING project.
Park Rangers Chris, Bupesh and Julian helped us, both with the tree planting and with making wooden bird boxes with children, who were obviously enjoying themselves. The children then put a little nesting material into the boxes and took them away to hang up in their gardens, in order to provide shelter for nesting birds along the green wildlife corridors that we are beginning to create.
The children also had great fun filling containers with nesting materials made from an assortment of sheep's wool, hay and moss. Some of these have been hung around Newington Green itself and a good number will be put up all around our green corridors.
Thanks to grants from the Breathing Places Big Lottery Fund and o2, we were able to give away some bird and bee nesting boxes, plus bird feeders, which will be put up in locations around the Newington Green area.
LB Islington provided us with some native tree whips to give out: wild pear, hawthorn, sea buckthorn and blackthorn. All of these trees will provide food and shelter for wildlife and some food for humans - so we might even find people making jam and sloe gin around here again, some time in the future.
We had a raffle, which did well.
We had several people joining up as Friends of NGAG, a number of people kindly gave us donations and a good number put their names down as being interested in looking after the new street trees when they're planted.
NGAG were pleased to be able to donate some nestboxes and nesting materials to Newington Green School and the Mildmay Gardeners' Club, plus tree whips to the Gardeners' Club and to King Henry's Walk Community Garden.
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