Tag: Selly Oak Park

A Busy, Bustling, Beautiful Vibe At Our Community Tree Planting Today!

Today BTfl made their way to Selly Oak Park for our community tree planting and what a wonderful group of people came to join us to replace Hawthorn trees along the side of Gibbons Road. But before we started as always  we surveyed our previous plantings near to the Scout hut in the park. We were pleased to see that our Walnut trees planted ten years ago are doing exceptionally well. And just for a few moments we took some time to love and admire all the beautiful trees in the park. After that we swiftly moved on to welcoming 19-students from years seven, eight and nine and three members of staff arrived from Bishop Challoner Catholic College, local Councillor Tristian Chatfield, the wonderful Selly Oak Park Friends group who do such an amazing job of keeping the park looking fantastic and six member of the Dawat-E-Islami MIDLANDS Community Group to our event. Considering we had four trees to plant and a cascade of enthusiasm from everyone, the holes were dug, the trees placed in the holes and bedded down before  we could say, ‘plant a tree and get air for free!’ But as todays tree planting showed us in particular and like all our other tree plantings show us, tree planting events aren’t always just about planting trees. No – talking trees, sharing stories, feeling empowered, re-living history together and taking pride in all all we do to help the environment – is just as important.

We heard many amazing stories today while planting trees. The story of the legendary Selly Oak Tree that was planted at the junction of Oak Tree Lane and the Bristol Road around 1830 possible to celebrate the Coronation of King William IV. The tree was damaged during construction of local houses and was deemed to danger to leave standing so in 1909 it was felled. The Selly Oak tree stump was then placed in Selly Oak Park with a brass plaque to record it’s legacy.

Then the amazing work that Dawat-E-Islami MIDLANDS Community Group  explained that they are doing, not just tree planting in the West Midland, but all over the world. Working with local communities and school children across the globe, planting two million trees last year. Yes we said two million trees! The six volunteers from the group told us all about their work, we were all ears and wowed by the numbers. We felt very honoured that they had chosen to join us today and will do at future plantings.

The planting of a tree is regarded in the classical Islamic tradition as an act of continuous charity, the most desirable sort of good deeds. The Prophet Muhammad, on whom be peace, said that if one plants a tree then whatever is eventually eaten from it whether by humans or animals counts for the planter as a an act of charity.

 

As BTfL distributed our BTfL badges to the students form Bishop Challoner Catholic College two young students began reminiscing about the last tree planting they had been to with BTfL at St Ambrose Barlow School  in Newey Goodman Park in Hall Green in November 2019. One of the wettest, coldest and muddiest BTfL tree plantings on record! But with grins the two students explained even with the worst weather imaginable they loved every minute of it – here here!

 

Not only that all the students from Bishop Challoner Catholic College today are part of the school Eco Group, growing flowers, plants, herbs, fruit and vegetables to provide food for their garden kitchen, making strawberry  jam to sell to raise funds for school projects and to grow raspberries so that any student who walks passed the fruit can look, admire, pick and enjoy organic home grown fruit, raspberries, strawberries and apples – and if we have been privileged enough to be able to pick fruit we’ve grown ourselves we all know how magical and satisfying the feels! Their next project to plant some trees on school premises – via whips from the Woodland Trust.

So today as always was a brilliant day all round and it proves two very important things – trees always, but always bring people together and – it really is good to talk!

Please view the photo album for this planting here