HOW TO TAKE PART

1. LOCATE - Take a walk along your street. Do you see any street trees with space around the bases? Do you have a favourite? See our activity Keep an eye out and Listen to the landscape to help choose a suitable tree pit.
2. PUT IT ON THE MAP: Contact us at sharingseeds20@gmail.com, or by Instagram direct message to @sharingseeds, and let us know if there's a tree you'd like to befriend. Please send us a picture of the tree, along with the street name and the nearest house number.
3. TAKE OWNERSHIP - We'd love you to share the tree you've chosen on your social media and with other local residents by chalking 'Sharing Seeds Project 2021' around the base and by tying a yarn with an overhand knot around the trunk (no bows as birds can get caught in them). Make sure you use the hashtag #sharingseeds2021 and tag us with @sharingseeds when you post it, so we can repost your fine work on our account.
4. SEED SHARING The next step is planting at the base of your new tree friend. You may have some suitable seeds already at home - we'll share a list of suitable seeds, and some guidelines for how to make sure the soil is ready for them. If you don't have any seeds, or any soil, let us know and we will get some to you safely - sharingseeds20@gmail.com.
5. GROW - You can plant straight in your street tree base, or grow some seedlings at home for a while to plant in the ground later when they're stronger. In the meantime, make sure you top up your chalk to let your tree know you're still thinking about it (and for other locals to enjoy!) Make sure you take photos of your tree at regular intervals, especially once you put in the seeds or seedlings. You will want a record of the changes taking place!
6. INSPIRE - sure you share your photos with us by tagging us @sharingseeds and using the hashtag #sharingseeds2021 so we can keep everyone up to date on the wonderful growing going on!

We will be sharing more activities you can get involved with over the coming months, so make sure you follow us on Instagram or keep an eye on the Activities page on this blog.

Guidelines
You can grow whatever you fancy. We just have a few guidelines for safety and to ensure we keep the footway accessible for others:

• Avoid planting spiky plants, or plants which can sting, or plants which are toxic.
• Avoid planting anything that will grow too large, could block the pavement, or cause a trip hazard for pedestrians.
• Please don’t plant any invasive species, such as Japanese knotweed, Himalayan balsam, or giant hogweed.
• Please avoid using any chemical pesticides to maintain your tree base.
• If you plant herbs, we would not recommend eating them if the tree base is by a busy roadside.
• Try not to dig too deeply to avoid disturbing or damaging the tree’s roots.