In 2019 the parish council signed up to support the Woodland Trust's Tree Charter and the 10 principles embodied by the charter.

"The Charter for Trees, Woods and People set's out the modern day relationship between people and trees and a vision for the future where we can be stronger together."

The 10 Principles of the Tree Charter

Sustain landscapes rich in wildlife
Plant for the future
Celebrate the power of trees to inspire
Grow forests of opportunity and innovation
Protect irreplaceable trees and woods
Plan greener local landscapes
Recover health, hope and wellbeing with the help of trees
Make trees accessible to all
Combat the threats to our habitats
Strengthen our landscapes with trees.

Tree Charter day is always the last Saturday of November and this year we are joining in with National Tree Week from Saturday 26th November to Sunday 4th December. We are calling this week "A Celebration of Trees."

Trees are a familiar presence in our daily lives. We appreciate them for their aesthetic appeal, and providing shade and food, but did you know there's a lot more to trees than colourful leaves and apples?

During National Tree Week, we're celebrating this unique marvel of nature, and all of the many ways trees make our lives and our planet better. We are also talking about how we as a community can help care for our local trees in the face of extreme weather and how you could get involved as a Charlton Kings Tree Guardian.

Find out more by heading to our Celebration of Trees web page.

In February 2022 the Parish was gifted two oak trees by the Honourable Company of Gloucestershire which were planted on Newcourt Green on the Cirencester Road as part of the The Queen's Green Canopy. This was a unique tree planting initiative created to mark Her Majesty's Platinum Jubilee which invited people from across the United Kingdom to "Plant a Tree for the Jubilee. The planting groups consisted of students from Holy Apostles Primary School and Charlton Kings Junior Schools as well as MP Alex Chalk, Ex-chair of the Parish Council, Rob Williams, and Parish Councillor Duncan Munro who was representing the Honourable Company of Gloucestershire.

Tree Charter Day 2021 was to be celebrated with a walk on Newcourt Green using the new self-guided tree trail leaflet. Unfortunately the weather was particularly inclement that day and so we are hoping that plans for 2022 are slightly less weather dependent!

The Parish Council is one of many councils that have signed up to support the Woodland Trust's Tree Charter, which was launched on 6^th November 2017 on the 800th anniversary of the 1217 Charter of the Forest. The Charter re-established for free men, their rights of access to the royal forest that had been eroded by William the Conqueror and his heirs.

This is an important year, as we formally launched Charlton Kings Parish Council's new Tree Strategy on Tree Charter Day. The strategy has been written for 'those who come after', as by planting a tree today, we are contributing to a better future mostly for succeeding generations. Tree planting is a crucial element of our CK Futures environment strategy.

2020 Tree Charter Day Events

• Launching our Tree Strategy – a personal copy was sent to Cheltenham's MP, and all our County, Borough and Parish Councillors.
• As part of our long-standing programme working with Cheltenham Borough Council to diversify the trees stock in our public greenspaces, we have planted two specimen trees on Grange Field – a beautiful, frost-hardy Persian Silk Tree, and a weeping, white Mulberry
• On Saturday 5^th December 2020, volunteers will plant a new landscaped Hornbeam hedge on the western edge of Grange Field
• Gloucestershire County Council's Rights of Way Officer has walked the circular public footpaths on Welling Hill, up to Charlton Kings' oldest tree, the Great Oak on Welling Hill, to inspect the waymarking signs and has made improvements that will make visitors' experience less uncertain and allow them to stick to the correct routes.
• A very small part of the Woodland Trust's prime Ancient Woodland Nature Reserve lies in the parish and is a place that we suggest would make a wonderful visit on a fine winter's day.
• The public consultation event on Newcourt Green on 14^th November 2020 has had to be postponed until January. Using funding from the government's Urban Tree Challenge fund, the Borough Council is proposing to establish two small new copses of native broadleaved trees.

The Woodland Trust's Lineover Wood reserve - a fantastic place to visit to celebrate Tree Charter Day

The Tree Charter was developed by the Woodland Trust, so it is fitting that we should celebrate Tree Charter day in Charlton Kings by promoting a visit to their Lineover Wood reserve; one of the 'jewels in the crown' of the Woodland Trust's reserves https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiting-woods/woods/lineover-wood/

Lineover wood was first recorded around AD 800 as part of the Dowdeswell estate and most of it is designated as Ancient Woodland and SSSI. Lineover means Lime Bank in Anglo Saxon and there are many huge specimens of large-leaved lime trees, mostly preserved to great age by centuries of coppicing

Within its 50ha (123 acres) there are two good, circular walks from the car park off the A40 by Dowdeswell Reservoir and you can pick up a leaflet from the parish office which has an excellent site map with paths clearly shown. A word of caution: the paths are very muddy and slippery after wet weather and the ascent is quite steep, so good boots and a stout stick are advisable; or you may prefer to wait for a sunny day in June when the ancient woodland flora is at its best.

There are also opportunities to volunteer on working parties that carry out necessary works such as coppicing, path maintenance, scrub clearance and planting of native trees in cleared conifer areas. If you are interested, please contact volunteering@woodlandtrust.org.uk or the volunteer development officer for the South-West on 01476 855480.

Charlton Kings Parish Council agreed its new Tree Strategy at the Full Council meeting on 26th October 2020. The document defines our future strategy in relation to tree planting and woodland creation.