Council honours Hounslow’s green heritage with Brentford FC

Brentford Football Club ambassador, Marcus Gayle, joined players, Ethan Pinnock and Mikkel Damsgaard, and Councillor Salman Shaheen, Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure and Public Spaces at Hounslow Council, to plant the trees, on Monday, 10 March. 

Orchards have played an important role in Hounslow for many centuries, creating space for local communities and nature to thrive together. Many of Hounslow’s greenspaces were historically orchards and the borough was a key provider of fruit and vegetables for the city, right up until the early 20th century. 

In recent years, the Council has been honouring this legacy by planting 16 little orchards in its parks, favouring hardy, native apple, pear and plum trees. These fruit orchards encourage local people to take ownership of and pride in their neighbourhoods.  

Students from Brentford School for Girls planted two of the new trees. They were joined by others from Brentford FC, which funded the trees, the Mayor of Hounslow, Councillor Karen Smith, club mascot, Buzz, and many others. The Lampton Greenspace team managed the day’s planting and will care for the trees moving forwards. 

This work compliments Hounslow Council’s ‘Grow for the Future’ project. Which is delivering the UK’s first-ever policy of transforming neglected spaces into orchards, community gardens and allotments. These are paired with schools and community groups, to bring biodiversity, sustainability and healthy food closer to home, communities and young people.   

Cllr Salman Shaheen said:

We’re celebrating Hounslow’s latest orchard at Robin Grove Park and I’d like to thank Brentford FC for their help with this.  

It was lovely to see local school students wielding shovels, under the careful supervision of Lampton Greenspace staff, and making sure the trees were given the best start in their new home. 

We hope that these same children will join other local people in watching the trees grow, thrive and bear fruit. Seeing first hand where our food comes from and forging a greater connection with food growing and picking free fruit in Hounslow’s parks.

James Beale, Brentford FCs sustainability manager, said:

We’re grateful to Hounslow Council for helping us develop this orchard, as well as all those from the community who planted trees with us. 

Nature is a key pillar of our work here at Brentford. By enhancing and building green spaces, we can take small, but significant steps to nurturing our environment for our habitat and society. We hope the community can enjoy this space and benefit from it.

At a time of climate crisis, increasing tree coverage is important and supports the Council’s priority of reaching net zero by 2030. Trees help to bring the temperature down by offering shade, as well as absorbing carbon and excess rainfall. They also create vital habitats for native wildlife.