Cumberland Council plants symbolic trees for Positivitrees campaign

This action forms part of the national 'Positivitrees' campaign directed by the National Leaving Care Bench Marking Forum (NLCBF) in celebration of their 20th-year anniversary.

The symbolic trees, planted at various locations including Carlisle's Bitts Park, Whitehaven's Castle Park, and Workington Hall Park, serve as a reminder of the council's aspirations and commitment to aid the growth and prosperity of its care-experienced young people.

Care experienced ambassador Danielle Crellin plants trees in Workington (Image: Cumberland Council)

These plantings also symbolises the council's plan to enhance the 'Local Offer', a package that endeavours to increase support for the young individuals.

For the initiative, two types of tree were selected – an oak tree, emblematic of resilience and strength, and a blossom tree, for its ability to bloom.

Local ambassadors for care experienced youngsters, Danielle Crellin and Chloe Morley, said: "At the planting ceremonies, we chose to share the quote, 'heal the roots, so the tree is stable,' as it seems really fitting.

"The roots symbolise the Local Offer, and the tree represents us as the care experienced young people.

“If we get the Local Offer for care experienced young people right, then this will allow for young people like us to have stable and fulfilling futures.”

Each tree will don a plaque containing links to the NLCBF website, where the aforementioned Local Offer by Cumberland Council can be viewed.

This tree-planting initiative succeeds the launch of Cumberland Council's second-care hub for the support of care-experienced young individuals in Whitehaven.

This hub, named 'Family Hub on the Harbour', follows the prototype opened in Workington in January.

Tree planting in Whitehaven (Image: Cumberland Council)

These hubs function as zones of support where numerous services and agencies can be accessed in one place by young people.

Cllr Emma Williamson, executive member for Children's and Family Wellbeing and Housing at Cumberland Council, said: "For care experienced young people, entering adulthood can be a daunting experience.

"We want to make it as easy as possible for our young people to get the support and advice they need as they create the foundations for their adult lives.

“The trees we’ve planted will serve as an enduring symbol of our ongoing commitment to our care experienced young people – be it through our new Care Experienced Hubs or our work towards growing our Local Offer.”

Echoing this sentiment, Martin Birch, director of Children and Family Wellbeing at Cumberland Council, said: "Planting trees is always a positive thing and we're really pleased to take part in the Positivitrees campaign.

"The trees represent our aspirations for our care experienced young people.

"As we continue to grow our Local Offer, we’ll be having positive conversations with the wider community about how we can all pull together to ensure every care experienced young person in Cumberland has the opportunities, experiences and support that other young people get."