Why England Needs More Street Trees (volunteer!)
We all love trees! And planting trees on public streets has so many benefits. They can buffer wind, stop floods and reduce temperatures in hot weather.
They make areas nicer to live in, and can provide shelter and food for birds and wildlife (and even free food for us, in the form of fruits and nuts). It’s even proven that having more trees in a street, reduces crime rates, likely because it encourages pride in the place people live in.
Read more on no-dig gardening and humane slug/snail deterrents. For public areas, read up on pet-friendly gardens (some trees and conkers are not safe) and avoid netting. Also know trees to avoid near horses (including yew, oak and sycamore).
Mostly in London, keep away from grey/white caterpillars (oak processionary moths) that can cause allergies and breathing difficulties – call a doctor or vet if you come into contact. These trees are cordoned off from horses and livestock (report to your local council and Treealert.
Yet unlike say in Canadian cities and towns, English councils don’t plant nearly anywhere near the trees they do over there. They have whole ‘street tree programs’, where the trees are planted by councils, then local people agree to ‘look after the trees’.
With regular watering and care, and reporting to the council, at the first sign of any disease of damage. Millions of trees have been planted, which of course also gives out more oxygen and reduces carbon dioxide emissions, which helps also to prevent carbon emissions.
London has more trees than people (around 9 million). But how many of these trees are on public streets, is less clear.
Plane trees are the most common, they are huge living statues with hand-shaped leaves, you can’t miss them. And although any pet could become ill if they got too close, these are not one of the ‘main toxic trees’, so a better choice for town planning, than some other species.
Help your community to plant trees
If the above has inspired you to get involved, contact Trees for Cities, an organisation that can help set up tree-planting programs in your area. You can use the app to see if your council has already signed up. If not, then choose a park or street, then get into action!
The Orchard Project began in London, but now trains volunteers nationwide to plant (and care fore) trees to provide free fruit and nuts for communities. This also helps to restore veteran orchards and create wildlife habitats (leave some fruits for the birds!)
Incredible Edible began in Yorkshire, and is now a worldwide movement to grow and provide free food for communities. Grow herbs at railway stations or vegetable gardens in schools. Local people can help themselves to local fruits off trees, when they want to make a pie!
The Dutch city of Maastricht is lined with enormous trees (the local park is known as The Green Carpet). The trees provide habitats for pipistrelle bats, common swifts, house sparrows and pollinating insects. Road safety has improved, along with air quality and reduced noise pollution.
Trees for Cities (tree watering-champions!)
Sign up at Trees for Cities and give your local tree around 50 litres of water, pouring slowly into the base, to let it soak into the soil. Water at night or early morning, to minimise evaporation and let the roots take in the optimal amount of water. Adding (pet-safe) mulch also helps to retain moisture.
Trees for Streets (sponsor local trees)
Trees for Streets is a scheme for residents, businesses and councils to plant more street trees. Every £1 spent saves £7 in health, environmental and energy costs. It also runs crowdfunding to plant a cluster of say 20 trees on one street.
Each planting scheme is on land owned and managed by local councils. They plaint, own and maintain the trees, the scheme is to raise money to plant them. Your council must survey the location and verify approved schemes.
Terrific trees (and why we need to plant more)
How to Read a Tree is a book by Tristan Gooley, a man who can find his way anywhere without a map, by looking at which way a tree faces, or looking at a puddle! He says the clues are easy, when you know what to look for!
Learn rare skills that can be applied, each time you pass a tree – whether in town or country. Trees can tell us about the land, water, people, animals, weather and time.
Read our interview with Tristan Gooley, the natural navigator!
Read about pet-friendly gardens (some trees and conkers are not safe, also don’t leave windfalls on the ground as fruit pips/seeds are also unsafe). Avoid netting (use fruit tree protectors that don’t trap wildlife). Also know trees to avoid near horses (including yew, oak and sycamore).
Why plant more trees in England?
England has around 60 species of native trees, including English oak (Major Oak in Nottingham’s Sherwood Forest is around 1000 years old, and sadly is nearing the end of his life).
The nation cried when eco-vandals chopped down Northumberland’s Sycamore Gap (now shoots are signing signs of recovery) and we also have many other native species.
Trees in forest ‘talk to each other’ through an underground web of fungi, to share essential nutrients, and even warn neighbouring trees of possible inset attacks!
English trees do all kinds of wonderful things from preventing floods and heatwaves, providing homes to birds and mammals. And some trees (like holly) even use their tiny leaf spines as mini-lightning conductors to protect landscapes from lightning. Holly is toxic to pets, horses and livestock.
England has millions of trees (over 8 million alone in London, classifying the city as an urban forest). However England has lost most of its ancient woodland, which is why there are campaigns to preserve remaining trees. And get involved in tree planting campaigns, especially in urban areas.
Planting trees in town and cities helps to prevent floods, buffers wind, helps reduce urban heat island effect.
Trees for Life (in the Scottish Highlands)
Trees for Life is a lovely non-profit. Ideal for memorials, you can donate to plant a tree in honour of a beloved human or animal friend. You don’t get a plaque (and you can’t visit your tree). But know that the planting will provide food and shelter for wildlife for decades to come.
Ecosia (a search engine that plants trees)
Switch to Ecosia search engine (it’s free). Used by 20 million people worldwide, sponsors help to plant trees (this is now the largest tree-planting organisation in the world). It produces fast private results, and only takes a minute to switch over!
