The Benjamin Zephaniah Forest

The project

Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah (b. Handsworth, 15 April 1958 — 7 December 2023) was a dub poet, musician, actor, and activist from Birmingham. Poetically, he was known for his creativity and freedom, bringing Birmingham’s culture to the international stage with his powerful writing. He was third on the list of Britain’s favourite poets and was awarded a British Honour and the status of Birmingham Poet Laureate, both of which he turned down. His death deeply affected the community. To honour Benjamin’s life and legacy, the Benjamin Zephaniah Family Legacy Group approached Birmingham TreePeople to establish The Zephaniah Forest in Burbury Park.

Hundreds of community members, friends, family and organisations have supported the project in some way or another, and in Spring 2025, the last of the 65 trees that make up the forest were planted. Each tree has been paired with an original poem written in response to the project by 65 poets.

The trees

Some of the trees planted for The Zephaniah Forest include Plane, European Hornbeam, Indian Bean Tree, Mediterranean Redbud, Desert Willow, Kentucky Yellowwood, Dogwood, Beech, Fig, Apple, Pear, Plum, Sweetgum, Tulip Tree, Magnolia, Foxglove Tree, Bay Willow, Tamarisk and Bee Tree. These species were chosen for several reasons including their resilience to the effects of climate change, their beautiful flowers or leaves, and in some instances, spiritual or cultural significance. A diverse range of species helps to reduce overall risk of loss due to pests and diseases.

These trees are part of a legacy project, however, this isn’t the only reason the trees are special. Trees are vital for cities. Among other amazing things, they improve air quality, provide shade, reduce noise, and support wildlife. Caring for trees involves regular watering in warmer months, monitoring for damage and disease and taking action where needed. They also need the soil around them to be free from heavy objects like cars or mowers that can damage roots and compact soil. Healthy trees contribute to a healthier environment and community. The fruit trees can be harvested by the whole community. Plums will usually be ready mid-summer, figs in late summer, and the apples and pears are best picked from mid-September onwards.

Continued work

As with all of our trees, we commit to seeing the trees through to establishment where they should be strong enough to look after themselves, with little intervention. For us, this means we pay a contractor to visit the trees weekly through the hottest months of the year, watering the trees with a total of 55,250 litres of water. We also conduct regular surveys of the trees, perform maintenance and formative pruning and commit to replacing any trees that don’t make it during these first three years.

We’re also committed to our relationship with the Burbury Park community and On July 18th 2026 we held a celebration picnic to reconnect with all those involved in delivering the Benjamin Zephaniah Forest. We ate food together in the shade of the trees and listened to poetry from Bradley Taylor and Zakariye and incredible music from John’s Drummers.