Trees, hedgerows and wildflowers scheme

In 2021 and 2022, as part of a biodiversity action plan, Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Councils provided free trees and hedgerow plants to all parishes.

The scheme was a great success, with nearly 300 locally sourced trees and over 4,600 hedgerow plants planted in 2021 alone.

We are repeating the scheme in 2023, by offering trees and hedging for planting on land with public access - whether owned by a council, parish or community group.

In addition, we want to increase the number of wildflowers in the districts, so we are offering wildflower seed mixes for meadow creation. The aim is to create both a wider range and larger area of habitat for wildlife, often in places that are currently of limited biodiversity value.

Through a simple online application process, let us know what you want to plant and where: please include details about the area of land available, and any indications of the species of trees, hedging and wildflowers you would like to plant. This could be new hedgerows, creation of new orchards, planting to fill gaps in an existing tree or hedge line or changing an area of mown grass into a more interesting habitat.

We also welcome applications for more mature tree planting on the edge of developed areas, in towns or villages or as focal points in green open space.

We are particularly interested in projects that help by connecting (wildlife corridors) or expanding existing sites of higher wildlife value. Ideally, all sites should be accessible to the public, or at least have high public visibility. This means we are unlikely to support projects on private land.

Download Parish Tree Planting Project Application Form (PDF Version)

Download Alternative Editable Parish Tree Planting Project Application Form (Word Version)

Download Accompanying Parish Tree Planting Project Application Guidance Notes

Any questions or for more support, please email biodiversity@baberghmidsuffolk.gov.uk

All tree, hedge and flower species are native provenance and locally sourced.

Long term care and maintenance of trees, hedges and wildflower meadows planted under the scheme are the responsibility of the parish or community group concerned; however, the District will be available for advice.

Wildflower meadows and verges on Council land

In addition to the tree hedgerow and wildflower scheme, we are also looking at what we can do on Council land. Areas of meadow can often be produced by changing mowing regimes on verges and open space to encourage wildflowers and grasses to grow. We want to know if there are existing areas of wildflowers present that we should avoid, or areas where there would be local support for us to reduce mowing and allow the grass to grow.

This could mean leaving an area completely uncut, or just mowing areas next to paths, or cutting meandering paths through large areas rather than cutting everything. Some examples of options below.

The following image shows an example of an area left entirely uncut:

The following image shows an example of strips cut to either side of the path:

You can see which areas we manage using our web maps

Turn on the "Public Realm Maintenance" layers to see the areas we manage and if you want to make changes, send map of area proposed and let’s start talking about how we can work together. 

Email us at biodiversity@baberghmidsuffolk.gov.uk