Burnley cherry tree tribute to town's coronavirus dead
- Published
Cherry trees will be planted in parks around a Lancashire town in memory of people who died during the coronavirus pandemic.
Burnley Council is to spend £3,000 on saplings that will flower each spring to mark the anniversary of the first lockdown in 2020.
It is part of a wider £18,000 tree-planting push in the area.
Councillors said they want to link the spirit of tackling climate change with honouring those who died of the virus.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service quoted documents prepared by a cross-party working group.
They said: "The schemes will contribute to the objectives of reducing CO2 emissions and carbon sequestration.
"The cherry trees will flower in late March/early April, marking the anniversary of the beginning of the pandemic.
"Each tree will have an inscribed stone tablet and be planted around with native daffodils."
The trees will be placed in Ightenhill Park, Padiham Memorial Park, Queens Park, Scott Park, Thompson Park and Towneley Park.
Green Party councillor Andy Fewings said he hoped the plans would give people "somewhere to go and remember and pay their respects and grieve in a way they might not have felt able to do at the height of the pandemic."
Labour councillor Sue Graham added: "Those cherry trees will allow people to remember the 300 plus Burnley residents who lost their lives."