People living in St Albans are encouraged to apply for grants to plant trees in their neighbourhood.

The council has launched two initiatives to help finance tree planting across the country and inspire young people to take an interest in nature.

Its ‘Branching Out’ fund will back tree-planting projects that involve local communities and people aged 21 and under, while the ‘Tree Angels Orchard Fund’ will provide free tree packs for primary and secondary schools.

This comes in the wake of the council recently securing a grant for £1,700 from the Forestry Commission’s Urban Tree Challenge Fund for planting 1,500 trees.

These will be situated in open spaces at Holyrood Crescent, St Albans, and Tallents Crescent, Harpenden.

Applications are welcome to fund the full cost of tree-planting projects costing between £300 and £1,500. Ideally, the planting should take place during National Tree Week from November 28 to December 6.

There is no deadline for applications, but projects should be completed by the end of March 2021.

For more information go to https://treecouncil.org.uk/take-action/grants-for-trees/.