St Mary’s and St Lawrence’s Churchyards are busy town centre sites which for natural reasons, are sadly losing trees and so this project aims to replace the very old and diseased trees with new ones, which future generations can continue to appreciate.

November 2006 saw the first trees planted, with a total of six trees going in the ground; Holm Oak, Serbian Spruce, Yew, American Small Leaved Lime and a Callery Pear.  A celebration ceremony was held at the time to mark the occasion and was attended by local school children, Councillors and representatives from the local business community. 

Again with support from our friends at Festival Republic, we were back the following year, in 2007, to plant a further four trees in the two Churchyards.  This time we were joined by John Lewis, Reading and the Purple Turtle bar, who each contributed towards planting a tree.  This time species included an
Ornamental Pear and a spectacular Tulip tree, which stands at 7 metres high!

Steve Waite, Reading’s Lead Councillor for Environmental Services, said: “Once again we welcome this gesture of support from our local business partners and the Trees for Cities initiative. It shows that these particular organisations are an integral part of Reading’s community and not just passing through. We are justifiably proud of our existing street tree heritage but it is imperative that we plan for the future to leave an equally impressive legacy for our children.”

Trees for Cities relies on donations from individuals in order to deliver projects like our Reading project. Please consider supporting our project work by making a donation or buying a community gift