To celebrate eight years since PICS was formed, we are collaborating with Sherwood Forest Trust who help take care of the ancient woods in Nottinghamshire. PICS will donate on our birthday every year to grow saplings and plant native trees in our local community, forming part of a 100 year project to bring Nottingham’s ancient woodlands under one continuing canopy.
Our patients, partners and staff are being invited to join in as PICS branches out into new ways to green our environment and help celebrate our commitment to the health and wellbeing of people in Nottinghamshire.
PICS has also committed to an annual tree planting day, bringing staff together in our spare time to plant saplings collected from the community in strategic places. The inaugural event is planned for March 2022.
In the meantime, the Trust are running some amazing campaigns that PICS is supporting (details below) and Louise Redhead, Social Prescribing Team Leader, has started working with the Trust to engage patients in these activities.
Collect local seeds and berries – help stock the new community tree nursery in Mansfield by collecting from your local trees and bushes. The collections can be dropped at PICS HQ (by prior arrangement with Roz) or the Trust team will come and get them directly. They are looking for specific species:
- Acorns (might be too late for these)
- Rowan berries
- Holly berries
- Silver birch seeds
- Sweet chestnuts
- Alder seeds
While out for a walk, simply take a bag and collect any seeds or berries you see on the floor or that look ready to pick off branches (Rowan, holly and silver birch are better collected off the branches). Then label the bags with where the contents have been collected from.
Volunteer at the community nursery in Mansfield – This new nursery will house all the native seeds and saplings collected by local residents, and when grown, they’ll be planted strategically to join up fragmented areas which were once the Royal Hunting Forest of Sherwood!
More:
The Sherwood Forest Trust Charity – Home Page
Sherwood-forest-community-tree-nursery campaign