IT HAS been revealed that 145,000 trees have been planted in the county as part of an ongoing environmental initative for Bucks.

Buckinghamshire Council announced on Earth Day, April 22, that nearly 150,000 trees have been planted around the county since October 2022, in what is described as a 'fantastic' community effort.

The council announced their Bucks Tree Mission initiative in 2021, aiming to plant 543,000 trees on council-owned land within the decade. 

The creation of Wing Woods last month will see largest boost in tree planting figures to date, with an expected 132,000 trees planted by the council in collaboration with Forestry England over the next year. 

Alongside larger projects, the Bucks Tree Mission has also held community planting events including a volunteer planting day organised by the Chiltern Rangers which saw school children help to reach the target of 14,700 trees planted at Grange Farm in Widmer End. 

Another woodland was also created at Bury Farm in Amersham, with 14,300 trees and shrubs planted, and two 'tiny forests' have been erected at Princes Risborough School and Bourton Park in Buckingham, each consisting of 600 trees. 

Despite this progress, some residents have expressed frustration at the council's apparent focus on planting new trees rather than preserving existing woodland.

Commenting on the Free Press's announcement of Wing Forest, one user wrote: “Whilst I am very happy to see new woodland being planned for our beautiful Chilterns, shouldn’t the ‘powers that be’ have thought about it more before they destroyed the ancient woodland to make way for the very experience, possibly never to be completed HS2?”

Another added: “Never did, never will understand making more woodland but being happy to destroy existing Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty at a faster pace.”

Last month, Buckinghamshire Council issued a tree preservation order to High Speed Two (HS2) Limited to protect trees in Sheephouse Wood, a 141-hectare site east of Charndon in Buckinghamshire. A council spokesperson described the felling of the historic woodland as "brutal".

Gareth Williams, Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Environment, said: “This winter has seen a fantastic community effort across the entire county and it’s inspiring to witness such progress in planting a whole new generation of trees in Buckinghamshire.

“The creation of a new woodland near Wing in partnership with Forestry England is a great success for the council and residents. We’re aiming to plant a total of 132,000 trees at Wing Woods over the next year, with over 109,000 already in the ground.

“This is all part of our Bucks Tree Mission to plant over half a million trees in Buckinghamshire as part of our climate change commitment to reach net zero no later than 2050.”