12,000 trees make city shade greener

Manchester is becoming greener than ever with more than 12,000 trees being planted across the city over the last year.

The trees were planted in parks, gardens and along streets by Manchester City Council and partner organisations such as Red Rose Forest, as well as by residents' groups, over the last autumn and winter.

The figure is three times higher than the City Council's own target for planting trees across the city.

Thousand of the trees were planted during December's Tree O'clock event, in which planting events took place in areas such as Wythenshawe Park, Brookdale Park in Newton Heath and Acorn Close Open Space in Levenshulme.

Residents were also invited to collect free saplings from 'tree stations' in the City Council's parks, which they could then plant in their own gardens, as part of the campaign.

The Tree O'clock campaign was coordinated by the BBC's Breathing Places project and was part of a national project which saw more than 500,000 trees planted across the country.

It was also part of the City Council's Manchester: Be Proud programme, which encourages residents to take pride in their neighbourhoods.

Councillor Nigel Murphy, Manchester City Council's Executive Member for the Environment, said: "Manchester is rapidly establishing a well-deserved reputation as being one of the greenest cities in the country, and these extra trees will make the city's parks and streets even more attractive for residents to enjoy.

"We've set ourselves ambitious targets for planting new trees every year, but managing to treble that target is something we should all be proud of."