Sustainable Warwickshire

Sophie Hilleary, Warwickshire’s High Sheriff, has set out her plan to plant 689 new whips and saplings across the county and is looking for help to identify projects that need her support.

Sophie is the 689th High Sheriff of Warwickshire and has set out her bold ambition to plant the same number of trees across the county during the 2023/34 tree planting season, which begins in November.

The High Sheriff will be getting involved in Warwickshire County Council’s seasonal tree planting and is also wanting to get involved with any community or voluntary groups who have tree planting planned across this period. Sophie is offering to give a day a week of her time and labour, from Mid-November 2023 until the end of her tenure as High Sheriff in March 2024, to get stuck in with any tree-planting project across Warwickshire.

In return for getting her involved in tree planting, Sophie will gladly do her bit to raise awareness of the organisation and their tree-planting projects through her social media channels and website.

Any organisation who can get Sophie involved in their tree planting can email: warwickshire@highsheriffs.com

When fully grown, the trees that Sophie plans to help to plant will deliver the following environmental gains:

• Extract an average of 17,914 Kg of CO2 from the atmosphere per year;
• Produce an average of 24,804 Kg of oxygen per year; and
• Capture an average of 17,914 Kg of harmful particulate matter from the atmosphere per year.

Sophie Hilleary, Warwickshire’s High Sheriff for the year 2023/24, said: “I am keen to get 689 whips planted as soon as possible, but I also particularly want to make sure that by doing this as a High Sheriff project, it can also add value and awareness to any other tree planting projects that may be being planned in the county, so I hope anyone considering a similar initiative will get in touch.”

Cllr Izzi Seccombe, Leader of Warwickshire County Council, said: “We are so fortunate that we live in Warwickshire, a county with such a wide array of outstanding natural beauty and equally fortunate to have had a succession of outstanding High Sheriffs who are keen to play their part on maintaining it.

“Sophie’s commitment to planting 689 new trees in Warwickshire is a wonderful idea and will create new habitats for wildlife and increase biodiversity while also capturing CO2 and harmful particulates from the air. I hope our community and voluntary sector take this opportunity to work with our High Sheriff create a greener Warwickshire this tree-planting season.” 

Find out more about the High Sheriff of Warwickshire here: https://highsheriffofwarwickshire.co.uk/#

Find out more about Warwickshire County Council’s commitment to planting a tree for every resident: https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/news/article/2528/a-tree-for-every-resident-in-warwickshire    

The Council have issued some top tips for residents planning to plant trees in the 2023/24 planting season. Find out more: https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/news/article/4658/growing-a-greener-tomorrow-in-the-2023-24-tree-planting-season