Over 2,800 extra trees are set to be planted in Plymouth.
It comes after the Council were named as successful bidders for the first round of the Forestry Commission’s Urban Tree Challenge funding.
Twelve others areas around across England have also been awarded a share of the £10 million pot.
It will pay for the delivery of the city’s very own Plymouth Tree Challenge – an ambitious programme of tree planting projects, devised with a range of partners, in particular the Plymouth Tree Partnership, from across the city.
Led and informed by the principles established in our Plan for Trees, the challenge is to increase the canopy cover of Plymouth with approximately 80 tree planting sites across priority neighbourhoods.
With the money received from the fund, 1,010 standard trees, 1,700 whips (small to medium size) and 148 feathers (small) will all be planted in the next 14 months.
They will all be in fully accessible, public places such as parks and open spaces, road verges, residential streets and outside housing developments.
Communities will be given the chance to help with the planting and care of the trees, with the aim to encourage people to increase the frequency and diversity of their visits to natural spaces.
Councillor Sue Dann, Cabinet member for Street Scene and the Environment, said: “We are really serious about becoming a carbon neutral city by 2030 and the maths here are simple: more trees equals less carbon.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing many of these trees grow but more than that, I’m looking forward to seeing communities get involved, too. We must all play our part in climate change and the Plymouth Tree Challenge is the perfect opportunity!”
There are four themes to the Plan for Trees, which are:
Promote – to promote the benefits and value of the our trees through education and encouraging best practice
Protect – to protect Plymouth’s special trees and woodlands for future generations
Care – to care for our trees by practicing and promoting good tree and woodland management
Enhance – to enhance urban areas by increasing tree canopy cover.
It aims to help trees in urban areas become fit for purpose, resilient to the challenges of climate change and disease, and adaptable to whatever new challenges the future may hold.
It covers all trees in Plymouth and relies on partners Plymouth Tree Partnership Plymouth Community Homes, the Woodland Trust, the National Trust and Plymouth Open Spaces Network for its successful delivery.