TreeFest

TreeFest is coming to the Pier Street Pop-Up Space on Saturday 7 November, from 11am to 7pm. It's Hull's first tree festival, put on by Hull and East Riding Friends of the Earth as part of their Tree Stories project, which they describe as an effort to reconnect people with the trees around them and inspire communities to value, protect and care for them.

There's a fair bit to get through during the day. A whole range of groups will have stalls and be on hand to chat: Pickering Road Community Orchard, The Woodland Trust, Hull Food Partnership, Community Climate Stewards, RSPB, Butterfly City, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, East Riding Archives and Stop Burning Trees. Artist Lauren Saunders will be unveiling a new series of folk paintings and a limited-edition publication. From 5pm, things shift into an open mic with music, poetry and storytelling.

The context behind it is a bit stark. Hull and East Yorkshire have far fewer trees than the rest of the UK: the East Riding has 4% tree canopy coverage and Hull just 2%, compared to roughly 19% for the average UK town or city. The organisers point out that trees cool cities, help with flood mitigation, improve air quality and public health, and support biodiversity and wildlife habitats. The festival sits just ahead of The Tree Council's #NationalTreeWeek, which they call the best time to plant new trees.

There's also a way to get involved: you can share your own tree memories for the project's growing Digital Forest, an online collection of connections between people, places and trees. Dogs are welcome. Entry is free and no ticket is required, so you can just turn up at the Pier Street Pop-Up Space on Pier Street, Humber Street, HU1 1TU, any time between 11am and 7pm.