We’re on a mission to get a quarter of a million more street trees planted nationwide over the next 10 years, and Hillingdon is the latest borough to join us!
Funded by DEFRA’s Green Recovery Challenge fund, Trees for Streets raises funds to supplement council tree planting budgets. We do this by inviting local residents to sponsor trees in their local streets and parks – which means councils can plant many more trees on top of what their existing budget will allow.
Hillingdon is already quite a green area of London, and boasts 60 Green Flag Awards – the most held by any borough both nationally and internationally. However the council knows that more must be done to address climate change and invest in the borough for the benefit of current and future residents.
“We’re delighted to be pioneering this brilliant new scheme, which will give residents a real sense of pride and ownership over the appearance of their streets.
“We’re lucky to live in a verdant, leafy borough but as we look to address the challenges of the climate emergency it’s vital we do more to counter the effects of global warming.
“Increasing the number of trees on our streets will help clean the air, reduce local carbon dioxide emissions, aid local biodiversity and of course, keep our streets visually appealing.”
Cllr Eddie Lavery, Hillingdon Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment, Housing and Regeneration
It’s easy to sponsor a tree with our online app – simply choose your location, and provide a few simple details, along with a donation towards planting and maintenance of the tree. The council then assesses the chosen location, and if it is suitable, arrangements will be made to plant a tree the following winter: the best time to plant young trees to ensure they grow and thrive.
Why are street trees important?
Street trees do so much for us:
• capture carbon dioxide and produce oxygen
• improve our health and wellbeing – both physically and mentally
• improve air quality by acting like natural filters
• create shading and cooling – so important in towns and cities
• make the neighbourhoods where we live that bit nicer
Beyond donating money to sponsor a tree, there are lots of other ways for people to get involved.
Once each street tree is planted, it will need watering every week throughout the summer for 3 years to give it the best chance of survival, and any litter or weeds will need removing too, to make sure it thrives.
