ROOTS are being laid for a cleaner, greener Bolton.

More trees are set to be planted in the borough this years thanks to a partnership with City of Trees, the tree planting movement for Greater Manchester.

City of Trees support landowners to plant trees on their land.

The planting on Bolton Council sites is scheduled to take place before the end of March 2022, following on from the 13,550 trees planted across Bolton parks and green spaces in 2021.

Trees cover approximately 38 per cent of land mass across Europe but the UK has one of the lowest levels of tree cover at around 16 per cent.

Cllr Adele Warren, Executive Cabinet Member for Climate Change, said: “This funding strengthens the council’s commitment to tackling climate change.

“Planting more trees is an essential part of what we need to do to make us less vulnerable to climate change. Trees capture rain on their leaves and allow water to drain into the ground which helps to reduce the risk of flooding. They also act as natural air conditioning units which is crucial now that we are experiencing more extreme heat wave events.”

The funding will pay for the cost of supplying and planting the trees and associated materials and up to 15 years maintenance to make sure that the new trees become properly established woodland.

In addition to the funding, City of Trees can provide all the necessary technical support in terms of site surveys, planting designs, species mixes and the undertaking of the required regulatory work with government agencies such as the Forestry Commission, as well as local organisations like the Greater Manchester Ecology Unit.

City of Trees has developed a specific offer for farmers, for further information visit; https://www.cityoftrees.org.uk/city-trees-farmer-resilience-fund-frf.

Other landowners interested in planting on their land in the future can find out more about City of Trees by visiting https://www.cityoftrees.org.uk