Social housing landlord ForHousing has kicked off its annual winter tree planting programme by planting its 500th tree in Moorfield Close, Swinton.
The initiative, aimed at enhancing the local environment and contributing to carbon reduction efforts, was begun in 2016 by ForHousing, with property services company, Liberty, overseeing the planting.
50 trees have been planted each year by Liberty’s Arboricultural Officer, David Diaczuk, who is responsible for maintaining the trees and improving the environmental and wildlife benefits they bring across ForHousing’s neighbourhoods. David works across Salford, Fitton Hill in Oldham and Stockbridge Village.
For the 2023 programme, ForHousing has ordered 50 established saplings with all the tree species carefully chosen by David to maximise their environmental impact. These species include Maple, Alder, Birch, Hornbeam, Pine, Oak, Willow, and Wild Plum, each contributing to the diversity and resilience of the local ecosystem.
The latest round of planting is being focused on sheltered schemes, such as the one in Moorfield Close, Swinton.
Mark Lowe, Director of Sustainability at ForHousing said: “We’re really passionate at ForHousing about making a positive impact on the environment and playing our part to help tackle climate change, so it’s fantastic to see ForHousing planting its 500th tree in Salford.
“Planting trees is a really important action we can take to reduce our carbon footprint and help us meet net zero targets. We are dedicated to making our housing schemes greener and more sustainable and we hope to keep planting more trees to further our commitment to environmental improvement.
“This commitment also extends beyond Salford. We are collaborating with the ‘City of Trees’ charity and Oldham Borough Council on initiatives to promote green spaces and community wellbeing in Oldham.”
David Diaczuk, Arboricultural Officer at Liberty commented: “It’s been a real pleasure to be part of ForHousing’s winter tree planting programme for the last eight years. Planting more trees reduces environmental heat in the summer and provides significant benefits to wildlife.
“The latest research on Ash dieback disease, the most significant threat to trees in recent history, shows that Ash trees in the UK will be close to extinction in the next decade. This is one of the many reasons why strategic tree planting is essential, to safeguard trees for future generations to enjoy.”
Tree planting is just one part of ForHousing’s commitment to decarbonisation. ForHousing is committed to achieving net zero emissions and being a leader in decarbonisation efforts as part of its wider vision — to positively impact the lives of social housing tenants.
Actions the landlord is taking include:
- Working towards all homes having an energy efficiency of EPC Band C by 2030 and achieving zero carbon output by 2050.
- Reducing overall annual carbon output by 6,200 tonnes in the first five years of its Green Strategy.
- Building understanding around biodiversity and green spaces, with tenants, stakeholders, and staff.
- Recruiting fourteen local people to ForHousing’s carbon community panel, who will help inform its decarbonisation journey and be directly involved in projects.
- Investing in training and providing tenants and staff the skills they need to make environmentally informed decisions.
You can find out more about ForHousing’s Green Strategy here.
