Half a million trees set to be planted across England
Almost 680,000 trees will be planted in towns, cities and rural areas across England under government plans to increase access to nature and boost health and wellbeing.
Applications for the government’s Local Authority Treescapes Fund and The Urban Tree Challenge Fund have reopened, which will see more than £9m allocated to support tree planting efforts. Both funds form part of the government’s wider drive to treble tree planting rates across England by the end of this Parliament and plant 30,000 hectares of trees across the UK per year by 2025.
Charities, community groups and other organisations can apply, while local authorities can bring together residents, schools and environmental groups to restore trees in areas outside woodlands. These include riverbanks, parks, beside roads and footpaths, and within vacant community spaces.
A blog outlining these differences and offering guidance on how to apply for both funds has been
Forestry Minister, Lord Goldsmith, said: “Everyone across the country deserves to benefit from the cleaner air and natural beauty that trees offer. This funding will support inspiring projects in England to level up people’s access to nature, support our wider ambitions to treble tree planting rates by the end of this Parliament and achieve net zero by 2050.”
Forestry Commission Chair Sir William Worsley said: “Together, these funds will help to promote resilient tree growth in England for generations to come, whilst simultaneously addressing the twin challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss.
“Research shows that trees planted on streets in urban areas help to decrease antidepressant costs related to mental health issues by £16 million. We are therefore committed to expanding and protecting our nation’s treescapes through schemes like these for the health, social and economic benefits they bring.
“The benefits of being close to nature are well-documented and have been emphasised over the course of the pandemic. Evidence from Natural England shows that almost half the population say that they are enjoying more time outside than before the pandemic. It also found that approximately a third of those on the lowest incomes visited a natural space in a typical week during the pandemic, compared with almost 60% amongst those on high incomes.”
