Life Project Volunteers plant 800 new saplings amid Bay Road sunshine in Derry

The event was hosted by Derry City and Strabane District Council’s Environmental Health department as part of the Life Project.

The initiative started seven years ago and sees every life event registered in the District Registration Offices in Derry and Strabane marked by the planting of a tree sapling.

Over 10,000 trees have been planted since the initiative started.

Approximately half of this total has been planted in Council parks during previous planting days, and the other saplings have been given out individually to service users who have registered births, deaths, marriages and civil partnerships over the past seven years.

These individual trees are now spread throughout the length and breadth of the Council area, and even further afield.

The project forms part of a wider Council strategy to improve air quality by increasing the overall tree canopy.

It is hoped that in the long term these pockets of woodland will be a valuable addition to the Council's overall green infrastructure, providing a positive impact on the mental and physical health of the public.

The trees for the Bay Road event were donated by The Conservation Volunteers and the Woodland Trust.

A number of families of all ages came to the event at the site adjacent to Bay Road soccer, and many people attended to quietly mark a recent life event.

Further information on the Life Project is available at www.derrystrabane.com/lifeproject where you can also share your experiences of planting your trees.

You can get further information on the initiative by e mailing [email protected] or contacting the Environmental Health Department by calling 028 71 253253.