More than 30 schoolchildren braved bitter winter weather to help plant 250 trees as part of the multi-million pound transformation of Manchester’s Brunswick community.
Youngsters from Medlock Primary School were joined by residents and volunteers to dig in at Cornbrook open space in Ardwick – undeterred by freezing rain, wind and hail.
Their efforts mean 250 oak and hazel trees will now take root on the site, between Brunswick and Grove Village, helping to brighten up the area and create a haven for wildlife.
S4B – the consortium behind the £100m regeneration of the Brunswick area – organised the event, which also saw members of the Friends of Gartside Gardens, Brunswick Tenants’ and Residents’ Association and student volunteers from the University of Manchester brave the cold and wet.
Ross Hemmings, Community Regeneration Manager at S4B, said: “We couldn’t have picked a worse day for it, weather-wise, but all our volunteers were brilliant and braved the elements to help improve their local area.
“The trees they planted are in addition to more than 700 others already planned as part of the work S4B is doing to improve Brunswick and we’re really grateful to everybody who took part.”
The tree-planting session took place last week and was also supported by Red Rose Forest, the community forest for central and western Manchester, and staff from S4B.
It was also arranged in support of The Big Tree Plant, a nationwide project to plant a million trees this year.
Major investment in green spaces is a key part of the masterplan to transform Brunswick by S4B.
The wider Brunswick regeneration project, which began a year ago, includes plans to build more than 500 new homes for rent and sale, new shops and amenities, sheltered accommodation, a day-centre and neighbourhood office.