Adopt a Tree Pit and Pollinator Pathways

• You may not plant anything apart from wildflower seeds 

• You may not dig in the tree pit or otherwise disturb the tree roots 
• You may lightly till the surface of the tree pit to plant wildflower seeds 
• You may not apply any pesticides 
• You may not install any structures, such as a wooden border, or raise the soil level above the level of the footpath 
• If wildflowers droop into the road or over the footpath, these should be cut back to remove the obstruction 

• When working on the street you must be sensible and safe 
• You may not work from the road side of the tree pit and you must be aware of other users of the street  
• Only the use of hand tools are permitted; however, the use of scythes, machetes and similar single bladed tools are not permitted 
• Gloves should be worn and please be aware that there may be broken glass and other litter in the tree pit 
• At the end of the growing season and when sown plants have died, you may cut and remove sown plants 

• All adoptions are for a maximum of one year, at the end of the year you must re-notify us of your intention to adopt the tree pit 

In addition to this: 

• You may litter pick and keep the tree pit and footpath outside your home clear of rubbish 
• You may remove low branches and low tree growth that are smaller in diameter than your thumb; only use secateurs and you should only remove branches to head height - please do not prune trees during the first three years of planting and do not prune branches overhanging a parked vehicle 
• Young trees that still have a support stake may be watered during the spring and summer period and 2 litres of water a day will help the tree establish 

• You will be responsible for the disposal of all cut material 

As this is a street and resident-led project, it is important to talk to your neighbours before you put in an application to ensure that they are aware of your intention, and that you have enough support. You can reach out as an individual or as a group. If you are applying as a group, please nominate a ‘lead’ resident to liaise with us. We ask that you:

• Contact every household in your street in writing to explain your intention of applying to become a Pollinator Pathway. Get in touch with us if you would like a template letter. We advise that you speak with as many of your neighbours as possible in person whilst delivering your leaflet or letter to encourage buy in. You must provide the email address ourneighbourhood@redbridge.gov.uk on your leaflet or letter to enable residents to raise concerns anonymously. It is advisable that you provide your own email address and/or phone number on the leaflet or letter, as well as ours, so that you can resolve issues at a local level. If you do not want to share your personal details, we would suggest making a new generic email account.
• Schedule a street meeting at an appropriate place and time to give your neighbours the opportunity to show their support, ask questions and/or raise any objections. This meeting also gives people who are unsure the chance to find out more and get involved.
  • We will ask for evidence that you have consulted with all households on your road (e.g. to see a copy of the letter you have sent and details of your meeting time and date).
• Collate a list of residents, including their door numbers, who are committed to actively participate in the scheme. There should be approximately 1 out of every 10 households committed to actively participate in the practical work of the scheme. This is to ensure the Pollinator Pathway is well resourced in terms of people power to carry out the necessary gardening. As part of the application process, we will ask for the details of households that will be actively participating in the scheme. 
• Address any questions or objections to the street being part of the scheme before completing an application. If you require any support with answering questions that arise, take a look at our FAQs below or get in touch with us here.

Once the minimum number of committed residents have been confirmed and the street consultation has taken place, the lead resident can complete the application form. 

Request an application form

Please ensure that you complete all sections of the form, if you have any questions or require any assistance get in touch with us.

Once your application has been approved, we’ll ask you to complete some Health and Safety documents including a risk assessment to ensure that participants are safe while working on the public highway.

We’ll let you know when you are permitted to start works and post you a welcome pack including guidance, wildflower seeds, tree labels, and more.  

When tree pits are adopted, only the individual pits go onto the no chemical spray list. In the case of Pollinator Pathway streets, the whole street goes onto the no chemical spray list – this includes all green growth along walls, pavements, gutters etc, including tree pits.   

Although this enthusiasm is great, we require a minimum number of committed residents before a Pollinator Pathway is approved to ensure adequate cover for manual plant growth control to be undertaken. 

Please don’t place ornaments, small fences, structures or personal signage to tree pits or highway land on your street. Adopted tree pits and Pollinator Pathways streets will be provided with labels and/or signage to show they are part of the scheme. 

We have to give our contractor a list of all adopted tree pits by mid January are unable to add individually adopted tree pits to the list after this time. Our application window and deadline takes this into account, along with our need for time to process applications and attend to queries. 

 It is possible on a case-by-case basis depending on the length of your street and the circumstances. Please contact us at ourneighbourhood@redbridge.gov.uk to discuss.  

Our chemical plant growth control is what we call a ‘spot’ treatment and not a ‘blanket’ treatment.  This means that they only put the chemical on the weeds themselves.  If there are no weeds, then no herbicide will be applied. If residents keep the area to the front of their property clear of weeds, herbicide will not be applied to this area. We are trying to keep our herbicide use down to a minimum. 

If you are adopting your street as a Pollinator Pathway and there are any shrub beds or grass verges on the street, these will still be council maintained - excluding weed treatment at the base of shrub beds, which will need to be hand weeded.

• Individual tree pit adoptions will still be honoured regardless of whether the street becomes a Pollinator Pathway. This is to ensure that individual residents are still able to apply to adopt tree pits, in the case that a Pollinator Pathway was not renewed.
• While it is likely that residents already adopting tree pits will want to take part in the wider Pollinator Pathway works, it is not a requirement.
• We will let Pollinator Pathway leads know which tree pits have been individually adopted on their street.
• We will let Adopt a Tree applicants know that they are adopting tree pits on a Pollinator Pathway street. Should they wish to connect with the wider Pollinator Pathway group, they can contact the lead by getting in touch with ourneighbourhood@redbridge.gov.uk.