Schools and groups in Nottinghamshire urged to join in the Woodland Trust's green recovery

The charity says its free scheme is the perfect way for people to be part of a ‘green recovery’.Thanks to funding from Sainsbury’s, People’s Postcode Lottery, Lloyds Bank, Joules, Bank of Scotland and Sofology, some 560,000 saplings have been snapped up for autumn delivery and there’s little more than a month before the deadline to apply.Vicki Baddeley, senior project lead, said: “Lockdown has proved to us the value people put on green spaces.

"Having somewhere to escape to, to clear their heads and get fresh air has never been so important.

"They’ve found comfort and strength from daily walks rediscovering the joys of trees, woods and the wildlife within them.“Our free trees for schools and community groups give us the opportunity to create more of these spaces and address the climate and nature crises at grass roots level.

"We’ve heard a lot about economic recovery as a result of the coronavirus but you can’t make the economy more resilient without making the environment resilient too.“It’s fantastic that so many saplings have been snapped up for the approaching planting season.

"Saplings that will provide plenty of benefits for wildlife and for people whether that be locking up carbon, improved soil or water, new habitat, a food source, an outdoor classroom or a community space to benefit our wellbeing.”Since the initiative started in 2010, more than 10 million trees have been sent across the UK to schools and community groups keen to improve their local area.

Packs contain a mix of UK sourced and grown native broadleaf species such as hazel, rowan, hawthorn, common oak, silver birch, wild cherry, elder, dogwood and holly.Packs come in various sizes with as little as 15 saplings, for areas of limited space, to 30, which will create an eight-metre hedgerow, 105 which will cover an area the size of four tennis courts, and 420 to cover an area the size of a football pitch.To get your free trees, click here and order before August 14.