It's the final stage of a pledge by Willmott Dixon to plant 1,500 trees in the north and south of the city, where the company is repairing and maintaining 60,000 properties for Birmingham City Council.

Working with Birmingham Trees for Life, Willmott Dixon's teams planted the saplings and five larger oak trees in Pype Hayes Park, Erdington, with the help of 27 children from Gunter Primary School, 16 young people from Saltley Specialist Science School and four students from Birmingham City University. The first phase was carried out in Ley Hill Park in Bartley Green during National Tree Week (26-30 November), where 500 saplings were planted.

The initiative is part of The Big Tree Plant, a UK Government initiative to plant a million trees in England’s urban areas during the life of the current parliament.

Willmott Dixon’s Customer and Community Officer, Melanie Checkley, said: “We are committed to improving the environment of Birmingham and leaving a lasting legacy for years to come. The trees will not only improve the landscape but they will contribute to individuals’ overall health and well-being, as well as reducing pollution and flooding.”

Birmingham Trees for Life is a partnership between The Birmingham Civic Society and Birmingham City Council. It is devoted to promoting awareness and understanding throughout the city of the value and importance of trees, to raise money to enable more trees to be planted, and to encourage the involvement of everyone, especially young people, in planting trees.

Rebecca Wakeman, Year 3 teacher at Gunter Primary School was involved in the plantings, she said: “The children have really engaged with this project and it has helped them to develop an understanding of important issues surrounding the local environment. It builds on their passion for the community, and instils a sense of pride and responsibility towards their surroundings.”

Geoff Cole, Chairman of Birmingham Trees for Life, said: ”We are extremely pleased to be a part of Willmott Dixon Partnerships' community programme this year, planting more than 1,500 trees on two sites in the city this winter. Their sponsorship helps us to continue our involvement of school children and the local community in tree planting activity.”

Mick Williamson, managing director of Willmott Dixon Partnerships said; “This is very much part of our ethos called Transforming Communities, which is about how we can make a real, positive difference to the lives of people living locally. We want to play an active part in delivering initiatives that leave real legacy and recently wrote a report, called Transforming Communities, to share ideas and help organisations deliver sustainable growth to help communities through these current austere times.”

Willmott Dixon Partnerships is working with Birmingham City Council to repair and maintain 60,000 properties in the city. It’s two contracts for the north and south of the city includes the areas of Edgbaston, Hall Green, Northfield, Selly Oak, Ladywood, Erdington, Perry Bar and Sutton Coldfield.

Willmott Dixon Partnerships works within the Group to deliver repair and maintenance services to over 170,000 homes.