Alan Titchmarsh plants 1,000th new tree for Marylebone and Fitzrovia

Marylebone and Fitzrovia planting success | Over 1,000 new trees now added to neighbourhood.
The 1000th new tree planting in Marylebone and Fitzrovia took place in Blandford Street on 29 June 2022. Mark Gazaleh, a trustee of Westminster Tree Trust and committee member of Portman Village, Marylebone Association and Marylebone Forum organised the event. He has been responsible for encouraging and co-ordinating most of the tree planting in our area since the initiative commenced in 2009.
The event was part of the W1W tree planting initiative and the tree planted was a Ginkgo biloba, sponsored by The Portman Estate, Howard de Walden Estate and Concord London.
In a well-attended ceremony, we heard from Peter Ruback CBE, chair of the Westminster Tree Trust and the Lord Mayor, Cllr Hamza Taouzzale. Some interesting tree facts were given by Cllr Karen Scarborough and then by celebrity gardener Alan Titchmarsh MBE.
The planting event included plenty of useful pedagogical opportunities for local schoolchildren and indeed there were a number there from St Vincent's Primary School. The children were fascinated that Gingko trees originate from well before the dinosaurs. Alan Titchmarsh and Westminster’s Tree officers answered many tree questions during the event.
Also in attendance were Councillors Ian Rowley and Barbara Arzymanow; Yael Saunders, Chair of the Marylebone Forum; Michael Bolt, MA Chair and Barbara Corr of the FitzWest Forum, showing how embedded in the community the tree planting project has become.
Excerpt MA Newsletter July 2022
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