We are nearly ready – our tree tags are going out now! – this is your sneak peak at what is coming.
Pledge for nature this summer and help us care for Chelmsford’s trees.
As part of Greening Chelmsford, each year Chelmsford City Parks plant mature trees known as ‘standards’ across the wider Chelmsford district. These trees tend to be 5 to 10 years old and can drink 2-3 gallons of water a week!
These newly planted trees are on a regular watering cycle while they become established, – but you can help them thrive by giving them 2-3 litres of water (approximately 3-5 pints) a day while it’s warm.
What to do:
Don’t worry if you can’t commit every week – our parks team and other volunteers are also helping as part of the watering cycle.
Look out for trees marked with ‘Adopt and Water this tree’ tags – these ones benefit from extra support (see an example image of the tag at the end of this page).
Residents can water trees by pouring water into the green bag located near the stem of the tree or, if the tree does not have these, into the irrigation pipe or ground at its base. Water can be fresh or used bath, shower or dishwater.
You can see our guide to watering here (coming soon!).
Thank you for choosing to support nature with us! To help you get started safely and confidently, please take a moment to look through our Guide to Watering, Participation Guidelines, and FAQs below.
Ready to adopt a tree for watering? – Tell us your pledge using the form on our Nature Pledges page.
Not sure of something? check out our frequently asked questions below, if you still need to contact us you can do so here
No, all trees are part of City Parks and for everyone’s enjoyment. We still look after all our trees as part of our tree management strategy – if you want to report an issue with a tree in our parks you can here
We recommend 2-3 litres weekly, but this doesn’t have to be in one go, you can water as much or as little as you feel able.
It’s best to water the tree in the morning or evening when temperatures are cooler and water will evaporate more slowly.
That’s ok, all our trees are on a normal watering cycle and other volunteers may also be watering the tree. Volunteer watering is a bonus for our trees.
2026 is the first year we are promoting trees for watering, so we are asking residents to only water the trees with Tags for now. But if you see a tree with a bag and no tag that you would like to ‘adopt’ please let us know here
We ask that people pledge to help us keep track of how many people may be watering the trees, this may help us see where more trees can be made available to be adopted.
Freshwater or ‘grey water’ like bath or shower water and dishwashing up water.
Freshly harvested rainwater is normally fine, but we don’t recommend using water that has been stored for a while as stagnant water can develop bugs.
Trees are very thirsty. They can drink gallons of water a week, especially in warm weather. The tree bags you are helping to top up can contain around 50 litres. So, if the bag is not overflowing the bag can be topped up. Or you can add your water to another tree.
We don’t recommend watering near a wasp’s nest. If you suspect, there is a wasp’s nest near to an ‘adoptable’ tree please let us know so we can assess it and we may temporarily remove the tree from our list.
You can use any receptacle that you find comfortable to carry. You may want to use one with a spout to help pour the water into the bag.
You can report issue with bags to us here.
We ask that you do not remove or adjust the bags, as this may accidently damage the tree or cause litter.
We want you to feel safe and enjoy volunteering! So we have come up with some basic advise and gentle reminders you may want to keep in mind: