We're Hiring!

We're Hiring!

Beyond excited ...

We're delighted to announce that we are hiring for our first paid position, through our partnership with Grow Yourself CIC (GY). The position is for a Community Tree Nursery Co-ordinator, and you can view the ad here.

We're looking for someone with a passion for trees and/or growing, who is a strong communicator and well organised. There is still a week to go until the closing date, so please spread the word and consider applying yourself if you have the skills we need.

For those not yet in the know, GY has been delivering horticultural training to young unemployed adults in Bath since 2015 and have helped many get back into work. Their gardening services enterprise has a strong client base in Bath and will continue to run alongside the Urban Garden centre, which launched earlier this year. I have the honour of serving as a Non-Executive Director there, as well as chairing More Trees BANES. In my various discussions with the GY Director Matt Smail, we realised there would be mutual benefit to partnering both organisations.

Our vision is for a network of Community Tree Nurseries across BANES. Our initial target is to grow at least 5,000 trees from locally collected seed each year. Trees are our strongest warriors in the fight against climate change. Growing and nurturing trees will also improve the physical and mental well-being of those involved in the project. The project will set communities of people off on a journey of discovery around the process of growing trees, from seed to sapling to siting. It will build community cohesion, joining up people who want to help in their own small way.

This project will reduce the carbon footprint of tree planting, reduce biosecurity risks from imported trees, increase genetic diversity, whilst bringing communities together to take positive action on the ecological and climate emergencies. We have set up two nurseries already, and have a number of other possible locations and a growing groundswell of support for the project. Once we have proved the concept in BANES, we plan to secure additional funding to scale the idea nationally.

In 2020 More Trees BANES helped community groups to set up 2 tree nurseries, one in Whiteway, and one in Bathampton. The project has relied on volunteers up until now but so much more can be done with a paid Coordinator and funding for materials such as fencing and timber for raised beds. We've successfully raised £24,000 of the £31,000 we need, so watch this space for a fundraising campaign to make up the shortfall!

We would like to take this opportunity to thank our funders so far - Roper Rhodes, National Lottery Awards for All, Ninevah Trust, Restore our Planet and Bath in Bloom.

Thanks for coming on this journey with us. Feel free to drop us a line if you have any questions or ideas for our project, or if perhaps you have space for a nursery yourself?

Adam

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More Trees BANES

  • We have a simple aim of increasing the number of trees in our local area.

  • We are a non-profit community group reliant on public donations, fundraising and grants.

  • We think trees are ace. We want more trees. How about you?

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