A MUM from Prestatyn can’t wait to embrace nature and encourage new wildlife into her garden after taking part in a tree giveaway scheme.

Leanne Parry, who lives with her five-year-old son Wren, and dogs Jeffrey and Gordon, planted a tree sapling at home thanks to the Welsh Government’s My Tree Our Forest initiative, which sees a tree offered to every household in Wales, free of charge.

Leanne first heard about the scheme through a friend looking for some new trees for her land and was glad to find out that anyone in Wales can get involved.

The family headed to their local distribution hub, Wepre Park in Flintshire, which is one of over 50 across Wales, to collect their tree.

Leanne Parry with son Wren, five.

Leanne Parry with son Wren, five.

She said: “At first, I wasn’t too sure if the trees available would be suitable for my house and garden - a huge tree wouldn’t work for me.

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The volunteers at the hub were amazing, after explaining my situation they recommended the Dogrose or Hazel, and we decided on the Dogrose as I thought the flowers would be a nice addition to the garden.

“My five-year-old helps me in the garden too, he has looked after his own bulbs, and we planted a tree when we first moved in that has since outgrown him. Now he can experience the same process with the Dogrose, seeing it grow flowers and then the rosehips.”

While hubs are currently shut until mid-February, Leanne is encouraging family and friends to take advantage of the other ways to be involved in the scheme; anyone in Wales can opt to have a tree planted on their behalf or order a tree to plant at home.

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Leanne continued: “I think it’s absolutely fantastic. I’m really glad the initiative is helping people play a role in creating homes for native wildlife and helping to tackle climate change.”

Launched by the Welsh Government in partnership with Coed Cadw, the Woodland Trust in Wales, the My Tree, Our Forest initiative aims to give away 300,000 trees. Coed Cadw, has partnered with Welsh landowners to provide space to plant trees on their land on behalf of those who opt in. There are 55,000 trees available to be planted on behalf of Welsh households, with these native trees all contributing to the creation of a National Forest for Wales.

Leanne Parry with son Wren, five, planting a tree in their garden in Prestatyn.

Leanne Parry with son Wren, five, planting a tree in their garden in Prestatyn.

One of Leanne’s motivations for being involved in the scheme was to help create more space for nature and wildlife.

She said: “A big thing for me is encouraging nature into the garden. We have already left part of the lawn unmown and added a DIY pond which has seen the eco-system in the garden flourish. I’m hoping our new Dogrose will be able to attract and sustain more insects and birds.”

Natalie Buttriss, director of Coed Cadw said: “For anyone like Leanne who wants to do their bit to tackle climate change and support wildlife this new year, opting to have a tree planted on your behalf through My Tree, Our Forest is an easy way to do so. Filling in the online form takes less than one minute. We’ve got ten native species that we can plant on your behalf, or you can order a free tree online to plant at home.”