Wigan township celebrates Platinum Jubilee in a green way

Friends Around Bryn was set up almost 20 years ago and is a community group with membership being open to those living in the area.

Its priority is to improve the neighbourhood and they meet on the first Tuesday of every month at the Jubilee Club in Bryn at 7.30pm.

Members have recently teamed up with Wigan Council’s group, Naturalising the Borough (NTB) to plant trees in the area.

The local authority’s project was launched after declaring a climate emergency back in July 2019 and it outlined a Climate Change Strategy in which actions were set out including creating new habitats and areas of species-rich grassland.

Part-funded by both the NTB and Coun Sylvia Wilkinson’s Brighter Borough fund the trees were planted by the parks and streetscene staff from the council at Whitledge Green in Ashton-in-Makerfield.

What are now taking root at the site are called Liquidambar. These are deciduous trees and are grown for their maple-like leaves which take on brilliant and long lasting autumn colour while bearing flowers and fruits.

A total of six trees were planted to honour the royal jubilee which last month celebrated Elizabeth II’s 70 years of service as the nation’s monarch.

The project also embraced the Queen’s Green Canopy initiative to plant millions of native trees in the UK.

Group member Don Hodgkinson said: “We’ve had trees planted several times, we just want people to enjoy Whitledge Green by birghtening up the area.”