We want you to be aware that following the planting of almost 1600 street trees earlier this year, Bromley Council’s Treemendous initiative is continuing with these newly planted trees now being watered each week.

If you are able to support this work by also watering newly planted trees that may be near you, that would be really appreciated. This will help ensure that these trees will properly establish and grow to maturity and thank you for support with this. Information about tree watering can be found on the Bromely Council’s website.

Bromley council’s tree-watering programme aims to help new trees get established and grow successfully. Thank you to Tree Friend residents who are supplementing this with additional watering, especially in the summer months, to ensure they flourish in the early stages of their life.

Watering a new young tree

The video above shows how to successfully water a new young tree.

If you plan on watering a nearby tree, please ensure you follow the correct method when doing so.

Only carry enough water at one time that you are physically fit enough to carry, and no more than 10 litres if you are a woman or 15 litres if you are a man.

 

With all our new and existing trees, regular watering is really helpful, especially now, during warmer weather summer months. As part of this, our contractor waters each newly planted tree with 50 litres (11 gallons) of water per week over the summer months, helping ensure they are kept in the best health possible.

You may not be aware, but you do not necessarily need to use fresh water to water the trees. Wastewater left over from washing, rinsing, or showering is safe for the trees, as well as rainwater collected in water butts. However, we do advise you not to use water that may contain harsh chemicals such as bleach.

When watering a newly planted tree, please use the green filling bag. Place the water in the small opening at the top of the bag, rather than the central opening around the trunk of the tree. These bags ensure that a steady, slow stream of water is fed to the tree base, maximising water usage and tree health. Please familiarise yourself with the health and safety information relevant to watering activity.

Tree Friends are also being invited to suggest where new trees could be planted In the 2022 planting season, 231 of the 1250 new trees planted in the borough were sourced directly from resident requests.

If you know anyone who would like to support our trees, please do encourage them to become a Tree Friend. As Tree Friends, you work diligently with the Council to help support us in our goals for a greener borough. Please ask them to sign up here to become a Tree Friend, where they can also report issues with trees and find out more about how to water our trees.

Once again, we would like to thank you for your continued support in looking after Bromley’s new and existing trees. If you would like to find out more, please visit www.bromley.gov.uk/Treemendous

Last month our proposed legislation to enable growth in community renewable energy was debated by MPs on the Energy Bill Committee.

To recap, we are calling for community-run renewable energy schemes to be able to sell their clean power locally. In recent months we organised for this to be included as clauses in the Government’s Energy Bill, currently progressing through Parliament.

We have always said we are open to an alternative, if it would genuinely help community energy grow. The Government will hopefully bring forward an alternative proposal to empower widespread community energy sector growth and that full details will be announced before the next Parliamentary stage of the Energy Bill.

This is highly promising and, if genuine, could mean a big success But, rest assured, we are taking nothing for granted and await to see the detail of the Government’s proposal, expected in September after Parliament’s Summer Recess.

Years of campaigning to bring over 320 MPs on board have led to this. The BBC’s coverage of the recent letter that we organised to the Energy Secretary of State, Grant Shapps, asking him to support what we are calling for and signed by over 60 national organisations, will have helped too

The progress we have made is in no small part thanks to the tireless efforts of supporters like you who have repeatedly written to your MP, attended our events and shared our message. Thank you.

Our work, from giving people bespoke advice when writing to their MPs, to co-ordinating groups of MPs to speak in support in the Houses of Parliament, have all led to the imminent proposal from the Government. To see this over the line, we will need more of the same. And for that to happen, we need more funds.

To find out more and how to support their campaign, please visit the Power for People website.

Click here for contact email.

On Monday (April 3) we had a huge success. A majority of the House of Lords voted to include our amendments in the Government’s Energy Bill. To recap, these amendments are based on our Local Electricity Bill, which would enable community energy schemes to sell their clean power to local people.

In a few weeks the Energy Bill will enter the House of Commons, where our amendments will be debated and voted on by MPs. We need your help to keep up this momentum.

From today until next Thursday at 12pm (20th to 27th April) any donation to the Community Energy Revolution campaign will be doubled, pound for pound. That’s one donation, twice the impact.

If you wish to donate, you can click here to find out more.