165 trees have been planted by Million Trees Derbyshire at the home of Derbyshire County Cricket Club.
The trees are a mixture of native species planted around the edges of the ground to provide shelter and improve the landscape.
Two Cricket Bat Willows were planted by Derbyshire all-rounders Jonathan Clare and Garry Park which will grow into large specimens and will symbolically celebrate the playing of cricket at the ground for 144 years since 1868.
Derbyshire County Cricket Club Chief Executive Keith Loring: “We are pleased to be able to plant more trees around the ground to help do our bit for the environment.
“The selection of two Cricket Bat Willows is an excellent way to celebrate the heritage of cricket and the long history of the game at the County Ground.”
All of the trees are being provided by Million Trees Derbyshire (MTD) through the government’s Big Tree Plant scheme.
Anthony Broderick, the local businessman who established MTD as a not for profit organisation at the start of the year said: “It is fantastic that we have been able to use this funding to support Derbyshire County Cricket Club and to help make the county greener.”
There are over 100 cricket grounds in the county and Million Trees Derbyshire is encouraging them all to plant trees at their grounds, including some Cricket Bat Willows, as part of the Big Tree Plant. If you are interested, visit the website www.milliontreesderbyshire.co.uk for more information.
The trees will be planted by trainees from the British Trust for Conservation Volunteersin Derby as part of their course in Countryside management.
A particularly green feature of the planting is the use of a product, new to the UK, to help the trees grow and reduce the use of chemicals on the site. These are mulch mats, manufactured by Sonairte UK, made from recycled paper and jute. They will break down naturally into the soil after having done their job suppressing weeds and helping water retention.
