We’re delighted to announce that Harrow Council is among the first UK councils to join our national street tree sponsorship scheme!
Our goal is to support the planting of more than a quarter of a million street trees nationwide over the next ten years, by supplementing council tree planting budgets, and we’re thrilled to be launching in the borough of Harrow.
“Harrow has plenty of parks and green spaces for the public to enjoy, five of which have been awarded Green Flag status, which puts them among the best green and open spaces in the country.
We want to go one step further to green our streets, and plant a legacy for the future. That’s what this project is all about.”
Cllr Varsha Parmar, Portfolio Holder for Environment at Harrow Council
Our online platform allows anyone wanting to sponsor a street tree in their neighbourhood to make a request to their local council by providing a few simple details. The council then assesses the chosen location, and if it is suitable, arrangements will be made to plant a tree the following winter, which is the best time to plant young trees to ensure they grow and thrive.
Our Project Director Simeon Linstead explains further:
“The aim of Trees for Streets is to make it really easy for residents to work with their local councils and make a difference to the world immediately on their doorstep, to facilitate something as simple, but as powerful, as getting a new tree planted in their neighbourhood.”
Why are street trees important?
Our urban trees are pretty amazing and the appetite for easily accessible local green space continues to increase.
Street trees do a lot for us:
• capture carbon dioxide and produce oxygen
• improve our health and wellbeing – both physically and mentally
• absorb air pollution
• improve air quality by acting like natural filters
• protect us from flooding
• create shading and cooling – so important in towns and cities
• make the neighbourhoods where we live that bit nicer
“Trees are so important and as they grow, they help stop climate change by removing carbon dioxide from the air, storing carbon in the trees and soil, and releasing oxygen into the atmosphere. This project gives the people of Harrow the means to improve their neighbourhoods both for those who live there now, and for generations to come and so it’s yet another reason we can be proud of this borough.”
Cllr Graham Henson, Harrow Council Leader
Beyond sponsoring 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.
By donating their time (and water) to care for street trees, Harrow residents will be contributing to a legacy for their community that will last for decades to come.
