Irby Primary School pupils are doing their bit to help Britain's rarest tree, the native black poplar. Last week they planted 13 young trees in their school grounds, with help from Wirral Tree Wardens. The young trees have been raised from Wirral and Cheshire stock by members of the Cheshire Black Poplar Biodiversity Action Group.
Mrs Joan Sheery, from Irby Primary School, said: "We are pleased to plant these trees in our grounds, where they have room to grow to maturity. As well as helping local wildlife, they will in future provide much-needed shade for pupils and staff when out of doors."
Native Black Poplar has become rare because its natural habitat, unaltered river flood plains, is now in short supply in Britain. Wirral has about 70 trees, but most are elderly, so it is important to plant new stock to replace them. All those found so far in Wirral Borough are male, though female hybrids do occur.
Wirral's Black Poplars grow mostly in gardens, but one is very visible along the Upton Bypass, on the Cricket Club fence just behind their nets. This is quite a short tree compared to many Cheshire specimens, but shows the gnarled bark, red catkins in April, and habit of growing slanting.
More information on black poplar in Cheshire can be found on the Cheshire Biodiversity Partnership website.
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