That’s some Jolly Green Trees

Tower Hamlets Council has planted small trees at Jolly’s Green Open Space in Poplar as part of a bid to improve our environment. The trees were planted to address the fact that there is little woodland in Tower Hamlets, and none of it is ancient woodland. The trees are species native to Britain including varieties of field maple, hazel, cherry, buckthorn, elder and guelder rose.

The planting is a part of the borough’s Biodiversity Strategy, which aims to encourage wildlife, reduce local air and noise pollution and enhance the local environment and which will see more trees being planted over the next three years. The trees are particularly needed in this part of Poplar as a couple of years ago local landlord Poplar Harca persuaded the Council to remove the local traffic calming measures. As a result, the residential areas are now beset with commuter traffic. The trees will go some way towards countering the massive volume of fumes which are now spewed out over the estates each rush hour.

Mayor of Tower Hamlets Lutfur Rahman welcomed the trees, saying that the work being undertaken under the Biodiversity Strategy was making parts of the Borough look much better, as well as helping the  environment. Cllr Shahed Ali, Cabinet Member for Clean and Green, added that he will be keeping an eye on the trees as they develop and looks forward to visiting them and watching them grow.

While not strictly woodland, numerous trees in the borough’s parks, streets, housing estates and gardens are important in providing valuable habitat for birds, bats and invertebrates. This is particularly true of native trees and those which are good sources of nectar and/or berries, as well as large trees which provide structural habitat.