LANDOWNERS are being offered free trees as part of a £500,000 community scheme being launched across Shropshire.

Shropshire Council has secured a £500,000 fund as part of a joint project led by the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Tree Council called “Trees Outside Woodland” in 2020.

The authority is one of five involved in the project, which will run until March 2023. It will see 21,000 trees allocated to landowners to plant.

Ian Nellins, Shropshire Council's cabinet member for climate change, natural assets and the green economy, said: "At its launch in 2020 it took just nine hours before all 12,500 trees were allocated.

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"This year there will be 21,000 trees available for the planting season 2022/23.

"Shropshire Council is committed to planting 345,000 trees by 2050, though we are hoping to bring the target forward."

The 21,000 transplant trees and hedgerow stock are being supplied in groups of 20 mixed species designed to see a range of different planting conditions.

They will 'lock up' carbon and improve the environment as they grow, slowly making a contribution towards making Shropshire net zero carbon by 2030.

The trees have been grouped to meet the needs of the three broad type of planting conditions that are most commonly seen around the county.

The main conditions are: woodland for general ‘lowland’ planting sites, woodland for ‘upland’/exposed sites, and woodland for damp/poorly drained sites.

Ian said: "This scheme supports that effort, and we’re focusing on planting groups of native trees and shrubs as copses and small areas of woodland, to maximise the benefits for landscape and wildlife around the county."