Our work in Alum Rock has included a two year planting programme, working with a broad range of partners: Go!-Woman Alliance, Zia-Ul-Quaran Mosque, Norton Hall, Washwood Heath Academy, Salty Learning Centre, St Johns House and Women of Worth Group. We have worked with groups to design and deliver planting interventions that aim to align with their aspirations and concerns for their places. This has included planting for shade, to hide unsightly factories, to offer food and shelter to local birds, to support more women-led action across the neighbourhood, and to use trees as a means to share culture and tradition.
We designed the planting programme around the constraints of the dense neighbourhood, working to open up existing and closed trees pits, making use of existing infrastructure, planting on private land (and semi-publicly accessible) land when there lack the appropriate public space to plant on, as well as a green space with a lack of canopy cover.
The planting days were full of poetry, stories, singing, and learning together about trees.