A cherry on top

Pupils from Emmaus Primary School have helped to create an avenue of beautiful trees to welcome visitors to Liverpool’s Croxteth Hall and Country Park as a planting project gets underway.

The youngsters from Emmaus Primary School joined members of the Croxteth Park Volunteer Group (CPVG) to plant 18 Wild Cherry trees, which will provide a stunning pink blossom gateway along the driveway leading to the green space in the spring.

The tree-lined route will stretch from Muirhead Avenue Gates to the park, and has been made possible thanks to the dedication of the CPVG and funding from The Mersey Forest and the Community Forest Trust.

This is the first phase of a large-scale project in the park, which will see around 400 trees planted by local school children over the forthcoming months.

Chris Beyga from the CPVG said: “It is vital to have a project like this and we are very proud to have been the lead partner in bringing everyone together to achieve this.

“We hope this project will be one of many legacies of the group. It’s been a clear objective of ours to work closely with local children to engender a sense of pride and ownership in them as future citizens and custodians of the wonderful park that was gifted to the people of Liverpool by the late Earl of Sefton.”

Steph Hepworth, from the The Mersey Forest team, said: “This project is part of the Trees for Learning initiative which has been funded by Defra as part of their aim to plant one million trees with primary school children by 2020. The children involved will learn about the trees they are planting and why it is so vitally important to plant more trees, they’ll also be leaving a lasting legacy for their community and visitors to this popular green space.”