Several years ago, Hannah moved from a leafy area of London to a pleasant but tree-less street in Coventry. As a result – the lack of green was all the more apparent.
When a leaflet dropped through her door promoting a scheme whereby residents could sponsor new street tree planting, Hannah knew exactly what needed to be done. She saw there was an obvious opportunity to sponsor new trees planted right there on her tree-less street. So she reached out to her neighbour to sponsor one together. This is just a start.
Access to urban nature
It was very interesting to Hannah to leave London and be surrounded by less trees. Her old house back in the big smoke had been near a park, and so she’d enjoyed urban nature every day. But her new street didn’t even have one tree on it!
As someone who is keenly aware of the importance wildlife and greenery, the lack of trees was on her mind. When our leaflet came through her letterbox – she knew just what to do.
Joining forces
Hannah reached out to her neighbour, Jean, to sponsor the tree together. When the tree was planted over winter, they realised another neighbour down the street had also sponsored a tree! In one week, the street went from having no trees, to two healthy blossoming instant impact beauties.
“There is very little green on our street so while there are still only two little trees, it makes all the difference. We’ve watched each tree grow from a collection of bare branches to a leafy, happy thriving tree that people stop to observe.”
Tree after-care
Our sponsors can opt in to water their newly sponsored trees – which is what Hannah and her neighbour chose. Hannah’s 4-year-old son loves taking out his watering can to water the tree, and they’re all excited to see it blossom again next spring.
Inspiring the younger generations
When we caught up with Hannah, she was a few days away from a big festival co-created by Coventry’s Belgrade Youth Forum looking at supporting practical change to address the climate emergency. A big part of the festival was to inspire people to play their part, so Hannah took some of our leaflets to showcase another way that residents can help combat the effects of climate change, and help make their streets healthier (and happier!) places to live.
Green dream
Hannah and her neighbour aren’t looking to stop there. They’re already eyeing up where more trees could go, in particular a large blank wall that would be a great backdrop for some greenery!
“I hope too we can encourage others to sponsor a tree so we might have a street full of greenery.”
We asked Hannah what she would say to someone considering adding more trees to their streets. “Do it – It brings so much joy, peace and pleasure, and it’s genuinely a lovely way to bring neighbours together.”
Join a community of tree sponsors
If you’re interested in adding trees to your neighbourhood, head over to our online sponsorship request app to see if we work with your local council.
We also have a Crowdfunding Platform, which supports communities coming together to transform their streets.
