TV gardeners back tree charity

Following the news that Trees for Cities has opened the registration for its 2008 Tree-Athlon, the environmental charity has received backing from four well known TV Gardeners: Diarmuid Gavin (Gardeners' World/Gardens Through Time) Matt James (Channel 4's City Gardener) Chris Collins (Blue Peter) and Tony Kirkham (The Trees That Made Britain).

The event is taking place in London, Manchester and Leeds, and in triathlon spirit there will be 3 elements to each Tree-Athlon; a 5km race, plant a tree and an urban tree wish.

The charity aims to raise enough money to support another 15 urban greening schemes ranging from woodlands to community gardens to street trees both in the UK and internationally.

Tree-Athletes will be able to enjoy some of Britain's loveliest award winning Parks, with the London event taking part in the beautiful surroundings of Battersea Park on Saturday 20th September and in Leeds, at Temple Newsam on Sunday 28th September, then onto Heaton Park in Manchester for Sunday 5th October.

The Tree-Athlon, in association with Metro, has already attracted support from a number of high profile individuals including Alistair McGowan, music band The Pigeon Detectives and fashion model Katherine Poulton. A broad range of corporate partners have also already committed their support, including: ASDA, FestivalRepublic, Royal & SunAlliance, Leeds City Council and Manchester City Council.

Diarmuid Gavin says: "It's a good motivation to get fit whilst helping Trees for Cities - I've been associated with the charity for a number of years now and the way they get local people involved in greening bleak urban spaces is so important."

TV Gardener Matt James is also enthusiastic about the scheme: "I'm passionate about trees and green spaces and nowhere needs them more than our towns and cities, so the Tree-Athlon is a great event to be involved with. It's so important to plant more trees - not only do they absorb pollution and reduce the impact of global warming, they also provide some much needed calm and tranquility in our hectic lives. The Tree-Athlon is a great opportunity to meet similar minded 21st century tree-huggers and get fit at the same time!"

People wishing to register should go to www.tree-athlon.org - please note that there are limited spaces for each of the three ‘events’ event.

Trees for Cities is an independent charity that plants trees and re-landscapes public spaces in urban areas of greatest need. A special effort is made to involve children and young people and members of the public can become involved by becoming a member of the charity, sponsoring trees or registering as a volunteer. Log onto www.treesforcities.org for more information.