The success of Yorkshire’s 2024 Olympians and Paralympians has been commemorated by the Mayor of South Yorkshire by planting a series of trees during a ceremony at the Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park.

Athletes Yasmin Harper and Krysten Coombs joined the mayor alongside local school children for an afternoon of planting trees along the junior parkrun route.

Mayor Oliver Coppard said: “I know they’ll inspire our young aspiring athletes to stay near and go far.”

The Mayor used the event as an opportunity to relaunch his free tree campaign which aims to plant 1.4 million trees, one for every person who lives in South Yorkshire.

The free tree plan aims to give community groups tree packs which are to be planted in their communities. This will hopefully help plant more trees, and make the region ‘cleaner, greener and better off’. 

The Mayor has called on business and landowners to put ideas forward for tree planting schemes to support his ambition.

Cassa Townsend, the Green Social Prescribing Programme Co-ordinator at Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust, said: “There is a wealth of evidence to show the positive effects connecting with nature and being outdoors has on our mental health and wellbeing.”

The Mayor intends to ‘harness the skills, enthusiasm and pride’ of the people, businesses, community groups, schools and landowners in South Yorkshire.

So far, the scheme has resulted in 19,500 trees being planted in South Yorkshire.