Trees for Cities has been awarded a grant through the Forestry Commission to help lead the fight against climate change in towns and cities across England.
This is awarded as part of the government’s 2017 commitment to plant 1 million urban trees by 2022.
This grant is to be delivered through 10 partner organisations working in 11 cities across England and will fund the planting of 10,000 urban trees and cover the first three years of care.
The DEFRA grant will be administered by the Forestry Commission and represents part of a new £10m scheme that will see more than 130,000 trees planted across England.
Trees for Cities and their partners will be planting a wide variety of trees species, across a number of sites within the urban environments. This includes roadsides, orchards, parks and open spaces.
The grant will support up to 50% of the capital costs of planting the trees in Birmingham, Brighton, Great Yarmouth, London, Newcastle, Newquay, Nottingham, Rotherham, Stockton, and Sunderland, with partners having to find the remaining 50%.
One of the most important aspects of this programme is that partners engage the local communities to provide support to these programmes and to take an active role in planting the trees.
David Elliott, Chief Executive of Trees for Cities said: This grant is a fantastic step towards delivering a generational movement in urban tree planting and greening for people and nature. Planting trees in cities has a huge impact on mental and physical health and that of our environment. This grant will help us and our partners work together with local communities to cultivate lasting change in their neighbourhoods.
Trees for Cities works with volunteers, schools and local communities to improve people’s lives by planting trees in cities, enhancing green spaces in urban neighbourhoods, creating healthier environments and getting people excited about growing, foraging and eating healthy food.
