As part of the Tree Equity For Hartlepool project, Tees Community Forest, in partnership with Hartlepool Borough Council, and Trees for Cities, among others, have planted around 4000 new trees across Hartlepool last winter. These trees were spread across two sites – the Phoenix Centre, and Bishop Cuthbert.
Tees Community Forest’s role in the project was to help design the woodland creation across the two sites. Firstly, this involved checking the site suitability, ensuring tree planting would not disrupt existing infrastructure and utilities, nor impact existing ecology. Once it was established the sites were suitable for tree planting, our Project Officer leading on Tree Equity for Hartlepool, Mungo Leveroni, spent time in and around the sites in Hartlepool to get a feel for their sense of place, exploring how these spaces are used by local residents and what this provides to the local community.
Mungo was aware of how much space was used for dog walking across both sites and therefore ensured tree planting was sympathetic to existing users of the space, maintaining large open spaces and clear sight lines to allow dog walkers to continue to allow their dogs to play off-lead. As well as this, there was evidence of the banks of a small beck at Bishop Cuthbert were eroding so trees were strategically placed to stabilise the bank.
Once these designs were approved by the council, Trees for Cities coordinated the days for tree planting. This brought Hartlepool’s communities together, with schools, community groups, and local residents coming out to brave the cold and wet to plant the trees. It was a great day to see all Tees Community Forest’s designs become real thanks to all the hard work of our partners and the people of Hartlepool.
These trees will serve the local community for a long time to come, providing ecosystem services such as clean air and a cooling effect in warm weather, as well as being a new focal point for local people to get together and connect, enhancing the existing sense of place through community empowerment and ownership to be even more welcoming and green.
– Mungo Leveroni, Project Officer