Cycling to London for trees

Russell Ball, founder of the charity Fund4Trees, has set off on his solo and unsupported 1,500 mile charity bike ride from Gibraltar to London.

His journey commenced with a tree planting event at the Gibraltar Botanic Gardens with Minister for the Environment & Climate Change Dr John Cortes and children from Notre Dame First School.

Mr Ball talked to the children on the benefits of urban trees and why they are vital for the health of the planet.

The journey will take two and a half weeks to complete. Mr Ball will stop en route in Madrid, San Sebastian and Paris to plant trees in schools and his journey will end with a tree planting at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew in London.

Fund4Trees aims to promote sustainable treescapes by promoting and advancing the education of the public in the conservation, protection and improvement of trees in the physical and natural environment.

Funds raised by the charity are passed on to scientists working to secure a sustainable future for trees in landscapes.

Mr Ball is a Chartered Biologist and his qualifications also include an honours degree in botany and a post graduate diploma in landscape management.

He is currently a consulting arborist in London and the President of the International Society of Arboriculture UKI Chapter. In 1996, he was voted Environmental Londoner of the Year and in the same year (jointly) won a Royal Horticultural Society silver-gilt medal for Rainforest Belize at the Chelsea Flower Show.

The Gibraltar Botanic Gardens thanked Mr Ball for choosing to start his journey at The Alameda and it also wished him all the best on his cycle to London.