Mid Suffolk District Council Tree for Life scheme flourishes in first year

Scores of trees were handed out to families on Saturday, after a council’s Tree for Life scheme was inundated with applications.

A Mid Suffolk District Council spokesman said the scheme, which was open to families of children born or adopted last year, had received a ‘great response’ in its first year, with 166 successful applications.

This means about 21 per cent of the expected new births in the district were allocated a tree. In comparison, a similar scheme in Cambridge only had 24 applications in its first year (two per cent of the birth rate).

On Saturday, families visited Sandy Lane Nursery, in Wattisfield, to collect trees.

Cllr David Burn, cabinet member for environment, said: “To be celebrating in this way the arrival of more than one in five new babies in our district is outstanding, especially as this is the first year we’ve done it. Just like the new life they symbolise, these trees will settle in and begin to flourish over the coming years.”

More trees will be collected tomorrow.