Charities respond to the Covid-19 crisis: City of Trees
In recent weeks we’ve heard from many of the charitable organisations we’re connected to about how they’re responding to the Covid-19 crisis. Although this is a really tough time for so many, it is encouraging to witness the adaptability, resilience and drive of the people powering our sector.
In the spirit of recognising and supporting the hard work that’s being done, we plan to highlight here just some of the ways in which organisations we come across are remaining focused on their mission, while responding creatively to the crisis. We hope that these brief posts may provide inspiration and ideas for others, or just demonstrate something of the profound value and quality in this work. All charities will need our collective support in the weeks and months ahead – follow the links to each organisations’ individual sites and appeals to find out more.
City of Trees
City of Trees’ mission is to plant 3 million trees within a generation, bring 2,000 hectares of woodland back into use for the community and connect people to nature. This year the charity planted 99,000 trees across Greater Manchester just before the Coronavirus pandemic reached the UK, with help from members of the public, groups and corporate organisations.
With the crucial tree-planting season naturally concluded, Spring is usually extremely busy at City of Trees with a full calendar of woodland management, wildflower planting and family-friendly events across the region. Although these are now cancelled and the team is working from home, they are still committed to connecting people to the natural world and have generated a range of nature-loving activities to try out from home. See below a selection:
Family Fun
Understanding that keeping children and young people entertained out of school is hard, especially with limited outdoor time, the team have put together some nature art ideas to help focus young minds: http://cityoftrees.org.uk/news/blog-nature-art-ideas
Forage & Feast
The team are sharing simple foraging tips and tricks as well as recipes to try out each month. For April: three edible weeds commonly found in Manchester’s gardens and green spaces. See http://cityoftrees.org.uk/news/blog-forage-feast-april
City Nature Challenge
This global Challenge takes place between 24th – 27th April, and happily, this year it is focused on encouraging people to record the wildlife right on the doorstep.
The team are encouraging nature-lovers to take part by downloading the iNaturalist app (or using the website) and uploading images of the wildlife they find over the weekend – from bugs and birds to butterflies. This is both a great way for young and old to connect with nature, and to support global biodiversity tracking.
#BreakfastBirdwatch
City of Trees is supporting the RSPB’s #BreakfastBirdwatch – which started on the 23rd March and takes place between 8am and 9am every weekday. People are asked to use the hashtag and share what they see from their home – whether that’s in the garden, from the balcony or just by looking out the window. City of Trees have also produced a downloadable guide to help ID our feathered friends: http://cityoftrees.org.uk/resource/just-fun
#Blossomwatch
Another way in which people are being encouraged to connect to nature throughout this locked-down period is by photographing and sharing examples of the many types of Spring blossom across Greater Manchester. Local people can compare blooms across the UK and the world by searching #Blossomwatch across social media.
Sign up to City of Trees’ newsletter at www.cityoftrees.org.uk/sign-up
Support their work by donating here: www.cityoftrees.org.uk/donate
