Warwickshire schools delight in receiving oak tree saplings from HS2

HS2 has donated around 400 English Oak saplings to local schools and community groups in the Coleshill area of Warwickshire, including Water Orton School and High Meadow Community School.

LMJV (Laing O’Rourke and J. Murphy & Sons), HS2’s enabling works contractor in the Midlands, working with environmental contractor Three Shires Ltd, collected acorns from a tree on HS2’s Coleshill Manor site in Warwickshire in 2020 which had to be removed during archaeology work before the land is prepared for the new railway line.

The oak tree saplings have been growing in a nursery over the last year and have now been donated to local groups to create a lasting legacy for the tree in the local area.

This project was in addition to LMJV’s extensive environmental mitigation programme across the whole region to ensure the biodiversity of local areas is preserved and enhanced, with many new wildlife habitats already flourishing and over 223,000 trees now planted.

Green Corridor planting programme

As part of its green corridor programme, HS2 has already planted over 700,000 trees, including silver birch, hazel, hawthorn and holly, and created over 100 wildlife sites along the Phase One route between London and the West Midlands.

HS2 is planting up to 7 million trees on Phase One alone, leaving behind more than 33 square kilometres of new woodland, wildlife and river habitats - the equivalent of 23 new Hyde Parks lining the spine of the country.

The groups which have received donations include:

• Coleshill C of E Primary School
• Coleshill Gardening Club
• Coleshill Town Council
• High Meadow Community School
• Ladywalk Nature Reserve
• Middleton Parish Council
• Oaklands Park
• Saltley Stallions
• The Coleshill Community Hub
• Water Orton Parish Council
• Water Orton School
• Woodlands School