We are all aware of the growing pressures on the natural environment and how vital its health is for us. But what can we do?

2024 is my 30th anniversary providing creative, community activities in my home city of York, including my Song Box musical play groups. In that time I have worked with over 2000 children and their families, sharing musical fun and friendship, building connections between our wonderful city’s heritage, nature and communities. To make a practical difference to the quality of life in our city, I have a vision of enabling a tree to be planted for every child that has participated in Song Box, and for families to be actively involved in and enjoy the wildlife that will flourish in their branches.

I am delighted to be making this a reality in partnership with the St Nicks Green Corridors York project. Song Box has a long association with St Nicks, our amazing city environment centre, enjoying many summer visits for musical pond dipping and nature sessions, and popular projects and events such as “recycling tricky plastics”.

St Nicks Green Corridors is a major, long term project reconnecting and restoring our rich abundance of green spaces, which act as vital green ‘lungs’ breathing life into our city. The Green Corridors project ensures key species and habitats thrive; including floodplains, meadows, water voles and tansy beetles. Along side the practical management work they have a strong commitment to education and engagement, making them ideal and enthusiastic partners for our anniversary planting project.

I am opening the fundraising with a donation of £2000. This is enough for 2000 small “whips”, 1m high saplings of native shrubs and trees like hawthorn, field maple, blackthorn, hazel, beech, wild cherry, crab apple and holly, all ideal hedging plants. I am inviting you, as past Song Box families, and any other supporters of this project, to add to the pot. Your donation will increase the number, variety and particularly size of saplings that can be planted this winter, to create new hedgerows as natural corridors for wildlife across our city. The bigger the saplings the quicker they will establish dense wildlife corridors full of seeds and berries, providing food, shelter and safe routes between green spaces. Families and supporters will also be warmly welcomed and encouraged to join St Nicks hands on events , helping plant, nurture, monitor and enjoy York’s Green Corridors and green spaces

Thank you for your donation, helping to reconnect and restore York’s vital green “lungs” for a greener future for all.