Plant a tree in Letchworth to help tackle climate change and create a COP26 legacy.

With the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in full flow, North Herts District Council is following developments.

To help mark COP26 and the council's commitment to act on the climate crisis, councillor Steve Jarvis, Executive Member for the Environment and Leisure, planted a special maple tree this month, at Baldock Road Recreation Ground, Letchworth.

The planting also marks the beginning of the council's 10,000 tree giveaway – in which people in Letchworth and across North Herts can help improve local biodiversity and air quality, and fight against climate change by registering for their very own tree sapling to grow and nurture at home.

If you have a suitable place to plant a tree, set back from roads, boundaries and buildings so they're not a nuisance as they grow, please email [email protected]

Please include: your full name, postal address and email address, whether you would like a sapling for a small, medium or large space.

All tree saplings are native to the UK and deciduous (they will shed their leaves each year) and although we cannot take requests, species will include field maple, silver birch, sweet cherry and hazel.

Councillor Jarvis, said: "We should all be working on reducing our carbon emissions as much as possible.

"The council is taking this issue very seriously and we have already switched to renewable electricity and green gas in our buildings, reduced the amount that staff need to travel and we have started switching to ultra low emission vehicles and improving energy efficiency.

"I am passionate about changing our behaviours to make a real difference – whether that be leaving the car at home and walking or cycling instead, turning off lights and installing energy efficiency measures, or restoring our natural habitats and ecosystems through rewilding.

"We all know about recycling but it's also about going further and looking at what we consume – especially single-use items – questioning do we really need it, and repurposing and repairing where we can."