Features / KNowle West
Meet the man championing trees in Knowle West
If you see trees being planted in Knowle West, chances are a tall man wearing a hat isn’t far from the action.
Jim Smith, 73, is a Knowle West resident and the Filwood Tree Champion, keeping an eye on trees in the local area and rooting for new ones to be planted there.
On this occasion, he’s keeping watch over Filwood Broadway, where ten trees are being planted for Bristol’s Greenstreets. This is a partnership between Bristol City Council, Forest of Avon Trust and Bristol Tree Forum, overseeing the planting of 590 trees in 59 areas of Bristol.
is needed now More than ever
The trees being planted on the Broadway include a holly, a silver birch and a katsura – a Japanese tree which smells like burnt sugar in the autumn.
Ten trees have been planted on Filwood Broadway in Knowle West. Photo by Jim Smith
Jim says: “Trees are important in Knowle West because we live in quite a deprived area and there aren’t that many of them about, so the more the merrier – and the fact is that they are very good for the environment.
“With trees being green, they’re restful on the eye, they clean the air, and they provide a habitat for lots of wildlife.”
Jim also has 100 young oak trees for Knowle West. These are growing in pots in his back garden while he waits for permission to plant them in the community.
With a small grant from the Knowle West Alliance, he bought the oaks for 20p each through the Bristol Tree Forum, of which he is vice chair. He is planning on working with local schools later in the year to plant them in the community, including on the Northern Slopes.
“The idea is that 100 children will plant a tree each and then they’ll come back with a measuring stick to regularly check its progress,” he explains.
“They’ll also be doing projects in their schools about how important trees are and specifically how important oaks are, because oaks support more wildlife than any other of our native trees.”
Filwood Tree Champion Jim Smith has got 100 baby trees for Knowle West – and we look forward to seeing him work with local schools to plant these in the new year. #WeAreKnowleWest ???? pic.twitter.com/1hSF8zGWFz
— Filwood Community Centre (@FilwoodCentre) December 9, 2020
Jim moved to Knowle West almost a decade ago, having previous lived in Peterborough where he also championed urban tree planting.
He traces his interest in the environment back to his childhood in London, when he moved into his first house with a garden: “I used to dig holes in it as a child. And, as I got older, I got interested in growing fruit and veg in it.
“When I finished school, they said, ‘what do you want to do?’ And I said, ‘I want to be a gardener.’”
Jim worked his way up the council’s parks department in London, before becoming the head gardener at Wookey Hole and later Oxford Brookes University.
“Because I’m now retired and I can’t do all the things I used to, I’m concentrating my mind on getting trees planted in this area,” he says.
The trees planted include a holly as well as a silver birch and a katsura. Photo by Charlie Watts
Jim has previously played a part in the planting of magnolia trees on Filwood Broadway, and the creation of a mini-orchard at Knowle West Health Park.
His tree championing is admired and appreciated by Knowle West residents, including Charles Ikediashi of the Gardening Friends of Filwood group.
Charles says: “Jim is a fantastic champion of trees in Knowle West and without him Knowle West would be a little less green.
“Knowle West has a lot of interest from developers, for example there are big plans for Filwood Broadway. Jim is needed to make sure this development is as green as possible.
“Being a tree champion for Knowle West fits him like a glove.”
Charlie Watts is reporting on Knowle West as part of Bristol24/7’s community reporter scheme, a pilot project which aims to tell stories from areas of Bristol traditionally under-served by the mainstream media
Main photo by Charlie Watts
Read more: ‘Bristol City Council needs to retain trees rather than fell them’
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