Climate action:- "Water your street trees"

RISING temperatures and dry spells are leading to an increasing loss of new street trees, but the nation can do its bit urges tree groups. The Arboricultural Association is joining forces with the Woodland Trust and Local Authority Tree Officer associations to rally the UK public to water their new street trees using recycled rainwater or grey water, such as washing up water. According to the Met Office 2022 was the warmest on record and the UK's total rainfall persistently below average for the year creating challenging conditions for newly planted and younger trees to thrive.

Catherine Nuttgens, Head of the Woodland Trust's urban tree programme, explained:- "Trees are crucial to our well being by cooling our towns and cities and improving air quality so we need to not only plant more but look after those we already have. While in rural settings newly planted saplings and woods can take care of themselves and adapt, the challenging conditions presented by living in the built environment means trees in our streets and urban areas need a bit more TLC . It's a fun job to do with the kids or make it a post tea time routine to water the trees. It can rally community spirit too if estates or streets club together."

John Parker, Chief Executive of the Arboricultural Association said:- "Planting a tree is just the start of the story. The health and survival of new urban trees is threatened by increasingly dry weather. It is recommended that newly planted trees are given 50 litres of water per week during the summer months, for the 1st three years. You can help ensure healthy trees for the future over the summer months by watering trees near you."

Since setting up the annual watering campaign in 2020, the Arboricultural Association has brought on board an ever expanding list of groups to take up the challenge.

Steph Mullen, has set up a watering group in Sheffield as part of her work with Kids Plant Trees. She said:- "Helping trees to thrive is one of the most rewarding things you can do - and kids love trees so it's a brilliant way to build a connection with nature. Not everyone has a garden or easy access to wild spaces, but watering street trees is something that everyone can do. Every tree supports a range of wildlife, so whether it's one tree or many, it's great to do something practical that really makes a difference."

To help spread the message wider, the Woodland Trust has this year come onboard.

Catherine Nuttgens, head of the Woodland Trust's urban tree programme, explained:- "Trees are crucial to our well being by cooling our towns and cities and improving air quality so we need to not only plant more but look after those we already have. While in rural settings newly planted saplings and woods can take care of themselves and adapt, the challenging conditions presented by living in the built environment means trees in our streets and urban areas need a bit more TLC. It's a fun job to do with the kids or make it a post tea time routine to water the trees. It can rally community spirit too if estates or streets club together."

The Government has committed to planting millions of trees to help meet climate and nature targets, increasing tree cover in England from:- 14.5% to 16.5%, by 2050.

Top watering tips:-

• Requirements vary depending on a number of factors such as species and location, but a general rule is that new urban trees should receive at least 50 litres of water per week, in:- May, June, July and August.
   

• Watering should ideally be carried out in the early morning or evening.
   

• Where possible, water should be sustainably sourced. Harvested rainwater is ideal, but bath water, or water which has been used for the washing up, is also suitable.
   

• You can find out more and order your own tree watering tags to encourage your community to get involved at:- Trees.Org.UK/Watering.

MALE suicide charity James' Place has treated 1,250 suicidal men since it opened in Liverpool 5 years ago. The charity, which operates from a centre on Catharine Street, offers free, life saving treatment to men in a suicidal crisis driven by life events such as a relationship breakdown, financial problems or bereavement. Men typically receive 6 to 8 face to face sessions with a trained professional therapist in a safe, friendly, non-clinical environment.

Thanks to the success of the Liverpool centre, the charity opened a 2nd centre, in 2022, in London, and now plans to open three new centres in:- Bristol, Birmingham and Newcastle with the Newcastle centre due to open in Autumn 2023.

Jane Boland, Clinical Lead at James' Place said:- "Suicide is the single leading cause of death of men under 50. When we started five years ago we wanted to tackle this by making a real difference to the lives of suicidal men in Merseyside. We help suicidal men quickly, when they need us, and our treatment is proven to work. I'd like to say thank you to all the amazing men who have reached out to us for help, the local community and NHS services in Liverpool for all their support, and to our fantastic team of therapists and centre staff for their life saving work."

Will went to James' Place in 2020 for support. He says:- "I didn't really have any expectations when I went to James' Place for my 1st appointment. I was so low at that point that I couldn't really see a way out of it and for a long time I didn't make any progress. Over time, with the support of my therapist, I finally began to open up and start talking about things I'd never told anyone. My therapist helped me to understand myself and identify what I was feeling, she encouraged me to dig deep and challenge the way I looked at things. I honestly feel like a completely different person now, I still have down days as we all do, but I have learnt coping strategies to use when I have a wobble and I don't let my thoughts get the better of me. I'm so grateful that I am no longer in crisis. James' Place changed my life."