Thame Trees

From before the adoption of the Green Living Plant, Thame Green Living was working with #ThameTrees of 21st Century Thame, Thame Town Council, SODC, local companies and John Morris (local tree expert) to plant trees and hedges on areas of public land.

Trees reinvigorate nature and capture some of the tons of carbon being pumped out by our homes, factories, offices and vehicles.  Not just that; they can inspire us in their leaf colours (especially this long autumn), by their shady canopies in the summer, by giving refuge to songbirds, and generally making us feel better.

Trees also need looking after, mulching and watering when young or newly planted, properly staked and sometimes netted to withstand wind and worse, and protected from any small creatures with sharp teeth. They also need to be the right trees for the right site and conditions, and planted in the right places, so that roots won’t intrude, branches break or foliage block the light of nearby residents.

All this means that planting trees on public land takes a great deal of time and preparation.

Since it launched in 2020 #ThameTrees has successfully planted over 4000 trees as hedges and as standalone trees. These started on on private land where landowners/ home owners took responsibility for looking after them. During this time Thame Green Living worked closely with Thame Town Council to identify areas of land in Thame that could have more hedging and trees. The two groups joined forces.

So far the various projects that have been completed are:

• Greyhound Land Planting Project
• Howland Road Tree Planting Project
• Queen Elizabeth Circle Recreation Ground Planting
• Rycote Meadow Conservation Project tree planting 
• Table Top Tree Planting, Hamilton Road
• The Triangle Planting Project

Thame trees need a small team of people who go out walking or running regularly to check on the plants for the 2 years after they are planted. This work involves:

• identifying whether any of the plants are wilting or diseased – basically are not looking healthy – and let someone know
• watering the plants in period of drought – this will be the most common task
• removing competing weeds around each plant – second most common task

Contact trees@21stcenturythame.co.uk if you think you’d like to get involved, or complete their volunteering form.

Procedure for approving new green infrastructure

All public tree planting projects are now coordinated by Thame Trees who work in partnership with Thame Town Council to deliver them.

If you know of an area in Thame that you think could be improved for nature in anyway then the process to make this possible is outlined below:

1. Get in contact using the form here to give us more details.
2. Thame Town Council or 21st Century Thame will be in contact to find out more about the area and your ideas – possibly arranging to meet you on site to discuss.
3. Following initial agreement by relevant Officers at Thame Town Council, a proposal will be created that the residents most local to the area are consulted on. Included in this will be a call to residents to help to support the project, especially in the first 2 years when newly planted trees need the most support to thrive.
4. The results of this consultation will be used to amend the proposal which will then be formally submitted to Thame Town Council for approval.
5. Following approval, funding and relevant permissions will be sought to proceed and a timeline created.
6. Implementation of project will progress in line with agreed timeline.