An environmental charity has called on members of the public for urgent help to plant 1,000 trees before they die.

Since 2012, Andover Trees United has planted 8,000 trees in Harmony Woods, and was planning to continue its planting program this year as part of its ‘Tree Planting Fortnight.’

However, with many of its trees planted by schoolchildren, Covid-19 restrictions have meant that only “a small fraction” of pupils have been able to participate this year.

This means that many of this year’s trees are currently sitting in a tree nursery, waiting to be planted. If they are not planted soon, they will die.

Andover Trees United’s project leader, Wendy Davis, said: “This year, the children may not all be able to come and this leaves us with a serious dilemma. Our trees are currently being kept alive in a nursery bed but will not survive the winter unless they are planted out properly. We desperately need volunteers to come and plant the trees that the children cannot.”

She said that the site was “Covid-secure,” with procedures in place to keep volunteers safe. She added that the charity was planning on extending its tree planting programme over the winter to allow more people to get involved.

Long-term volunteer for the charity, Terri Forbes, added: “I had never planted a tree when I first got involved a few years ago and now I am a regular volunteer over planting fortnight and community tree planting days. Getting trees into the ground gives me an enormous sense of achievement and wellbeing which helps me a lot with everything that is going on.”

Andover Trees United’s ‘Tree Planting Fortnight’, which takes place annually during the last two weeks of November, aims to connect school children and the wider community with the natural world while improving the environment and creating a vital habitat for wildlife.

Anyone wanting to ask for further information or get involved should email volunteers@andovertrees.org.uk.