Visitor and residents of Buckingham can now help tackle lazy littering by accessing community clean up kits for use in our parks and town centre. The community equipment is a way of supporting everyone who wants to do their bit to create a better environment on their doorstep.

As part of the Government’s Welcome Back Fund, Buckingham Town Council has received 30 x litter pickers, collection hoops and high vis jackets for community groups to borrow. The scheme encourages people to take pride in their surroundings and make it easier to access the right equipment for a litter pick. The litter picking equipment is made from 100% recycled polypropylene fishing gear. Using recycled tools reduces unnecessary plastic production and waste – making the positive environmental impact of litter picking with our kit a double whammy!

The equipment is stored at Buckingham Town Council’s depot and can be accessed via information on the Town Council’s website or calling the office on 01280 816426. Full guidance on how to access the equipment and tips on running a successful community litter pick can be found on the Town Council’s website.

Pupils from Buckingham Primary School were the first to have a go, organising a week of litter busting activities. The children managed to fill several bags of rubbish from the parks, paths and town centre.

Cllr. Anja Schaefer, Chair of Environment Committee said “This new equipment will be a great boost for members of the community to become involved. I would encourage everyone to make use of them and perhaps organise a group for a communal litter pick, which is great fun as well as helping keep Buckingham looking great”.

Litter remains a big problem across the country. Not only is it unsightly, but it devalues the local area, pollutes the environment, causes harm to residents and wildlife and is expensive to remove, which ultimately costs council taxpayers money. Each year Buckingham Town Council supports the Keep Britain Tidy campaigns through our annual River Rinses and #QuickLitterPick schemes. If you would like to organise a litter busting event then please contact the Town Council on 01280 816426 or email estates@buckingham-tc.gov.uk

Notes:

1. For enquiries, please contact Paul Hodson at Buckingham Town Council on 01280 816426, communications@buckingham-tc.gov.uk

Buckingham is a #lovetreezone

Buckingham Town Council have declared 2022 the ‘Year of the tree’ and affirmed the importance of trees and hedgerows in our lives and our town’s landscapes into the future. As part of the Council’s Climate Emergency Action Plan Councillors have pledged to organise a minimum of one tree planting event per year to help offset the town’s carbon emissions and improve the biodiversity of our greenspaces. The Town Council’s Greenspaces Team have been regularly watering the new trees to ensure they form healthy strong root systems and have the best chance of success during their first year and the Council encourages everyone with young trees to water them through the summer.

During January 2022, volunteers helped the Town Council and partners plant 250 saplings along the footpath in Heartland’s Park with clusters of Black Poplars (Populus nigra betulifolia), Alder (Alnus glutinosa) and many other native species. The Black Poplar is Britain’s rarest native timber tree and there are some beautiful examples of mature Black Poplar trees to be seen in Heartlands park.

In February 2022, the Town Council worked in partnership with the Buckinghamshire Community Board and Lace Hill Resident’s Association to plant a selection of 20 fruit trees at Lace Hill Academy and the nearby Community Centre.

An important aspect of healthy woodland and hedgerow development is their potential to provide is connectivity, keeping otherwise isolated sections of trees and other habitats linked into a wider ecosystem. Healthy, sections of trees, hedgerow and wildflower meadows can be a vital wildlife corridor for hedgehogs, birds and bees.

Buckingham Town Council’s Planning Committee pay great attention to tree applications, in particular those specifying the removal of protected trees. Applications are challenged to ensure the Planning Authority is fully aware of the Council’s opposition to unnecessarily felling trees in Buckingham.

As the tree planting season has come to an end for the 21/22 year, we look forward to the winter where the Town Council has plans to plant 450 hedgerow trees at the Brackley Road Cemetery’s new garden of rest. Many thanks go out to our dedicated band of volunteers who have contributed to our previous efforts.

To find out more about our native trees, visit the Woodland Trust for everything you need to know from identification, folklore and history to pests and diseases that threaten the trees of our town.

Mayor of Buckingham, Cllr Margaret Gateley, said: “It has been great to be part of the Queen’s Green Canopy tree-planting team during the last few months.  This is a wonderful initiative, ensuring a lasting legacy from the Platinum Jubilee celebrations. It is vital for our planet that we not only plant new trees, but also protect our existing mature trees, as they store carbon. The Year of the Tree designation emphasises Buckingham Town Council’s commitment to stem the loss of our trees linked to the burgeoning housing developments as well as applications to fell healthy trees.”

In support of Plantlife’s No Mow May campaign, Buckingham Town Council will be leaving large sections of the town’s greenspaces uncut throughout May and beyond. Housing estates’ verges and safety sight lines along the town’s roads, play facilities and footpaths paths will, however, still be cut.

Ever wondered who is responsible for cutting the grass near you? Visit Buckinghamshire Council’s useful map, linked below:
http://ow.ly/jKBp50Jb62C

Throughout May visitors to the town’s parks and greenspaces will see areas of grass left to grow and wildflowers allowed to bloom. A perfect example is within Bourton Park, where grassy paddocks are covered in a sea of wild grasses and frothy white Cow Parsley.

The campaign, which is organised by wild plant conservation charity Plantlife, encourages people to support wildlife and boost pollination by leaving some of its greenspaces to grow across the town throughout May. The Town Council is also encouraging residents, where possible, to do similar with their lawns.

Buckingham Town Council is working towards becoming carbon-neutral by 2030 and one target is to review grass cutting regimes and promote biodiversity. Hopefully, by reducing the schedule of cuts in our greenspaces, it will give some of our open spaces time to flourish and boost the numbers of wild flowers that provide valuable food for pollinators.

Buckingham Town Council has already enhanced a number of areas over the past few year, including increasing meadow and wildflower areas to over 10,250 m2 in total since 2017/18 to improve biodiversity and help pollinators – that’s over 2.5 acres or 14 tennis courts and has the potential to be home to millions of insects.

In addition, the Council’s Green Spaces Team uses a fully electric van meaning lower vehicle emissions and less noise when undertaking maintenance.  All grass cuttings and prunings collected by the team are composted and used on council sites.