Although Leith’s parks are much better loved than they used to be, there is a huge amount of unloved patches of greenspace in the Leith area that could be improved.
Greener Leith wants to make a difference here and has come up with a project. It is a community-wide initiative to inspire and help Leithers to plant 1,000 new trees in Leith. Greener Leith will provide the trees and Leithers will decide where to plant them. The project consists of a mapping project– using a set of maps we’ve developed that cover all of Leith that will identify greenspaces where trees and other plants need to be planted, and a planting project– as spaces are identified we will purchase trees (native to the Scotland or the UK) in batches and get them planted by volunteers.
The focus is on civic space, but not limited to public space – so, for example, trees might be planted in front gardens where they would contribute to the streetscape. The idea is to get the community involved, so the planting will be a social event and the people who plant them can take pride in the trees as they grow.
The Woodland Trust in Scotland has already committed to providing the trees, Greener Leith just needs to do some fundraising to being the sundry bits and pieces.
