That’s what friends are for: the Friends of Addiscombe Railway Park are among those who have embraced the tree-planting project in Croydon
A charity sponsorship scheme launched last year, and publicised here on Inside Croydon, has directly led to 10 sponsorship requests, as more than 100 new trees have been planted around the borough in the past 10 months as a result of the initiative.
Croydon’s residents have leapt at the chance help re-green their local streets. They’ve thrown their support behind a national charity street tree sponsorship scheme – Trees for Streets. And Croydon has set its sights on growing these numbers this coming year.
Back in the summer of 2021, Croydon Council became one of the first councils to take advantage of Trees for Streets, the National Street Trees Sponsorship Scheme. The scheme is run by a national charity, Trees for Cities, and supported by the Green Recovery Challenge Fund, which is funded by Defra and managed by the Heritage Lottery.
Croydon’s tree officer, Richard Edwards, got involved with our project when it was just an idea on a drawing board, and his expertise helped to shape the final scheme. He was instrumental in bringing the Trees for Streets national scheme to the borough.
Trees for Streets is a Tech for Good project that uses technology to make it easy for residents and organisations to get involved in greening their communities. The scheme uses a clever online mapping app that lets residents request to sponsor trees in street location and local parks.
Planting a seed: the council’s Richard Edwards helped shape the tree sponsor scheme
There are three kinds of sponsorships available in Croydon: tree sponsor (£200) or watering a tree (£150); celebration trees, in memory of someone or something special; and there’s also a crowd-funding project to green Portland Road in South Norwood.
Croydon residents have really stepped up and got into sponsoring (and watering) new street trees, all over the borough.
They have contributed to help fill empty tree pits and grass verges, from South Norwood down to Shirley.
Most residents were keen to fill an empty pit outside their homes, some used the scheme to plant a tree in a local park to celebrate the life of a much-missed loved one, while a park friends group planted a row of Sweet Chestnuts to create a legacy that will be there for decades, if not centuries to come.
Read more: Tall tales of thriving trees coming to the streets of Croydon
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