This summer’s heatwaves have highlighted more than ever the importance of trees in our cities as councils rush to vegetalise their urban hotspots. But one UK charity is ahead of the game. 30 years ahead, to be precise, and it’s gearing up to plant its 2 millionth tree. And it all started with throwing parties and raves to raise cash to pay for them as Roddy Shaw of Trees for Cities explains.
‘Trees for Cities started out in 1993 as a group called Trees for Life. And that idea was sparked by four friends who just wanted to see more trees in their urban areas. But the way they went about it makes it a bit different in that they started by throwing parties to raise funds. So selling tickets to raves and parties was how they generated the money to support the tree planting,’ says Shaw. ‘So they used parties as means to get people more interested the trees outside their door and eventually then brought the community together after the party to get them actually planting the trees.’
The charity grew and grew. Seven years in, it had hit its 20,000th tree. ‘Those first seven years had a real grassroots energy. Another seven years on, we were onto our 100,000th tree. Ten years after that, we planted our millionth tree.’ That millionth tree was planted by Michael Palin of Monty Python fame. The charity spread out from London and now has a UK-wide footprint. ‘And we’ll soon be crossing the line on our 2 millionth tree.’
Trees bring more benefits to cities than we realise, Shaw insists. ‘They give us oxygen, they take carbon out of the air, they help with biodiversity, they bring nature, birds and other wildlife, right into the heart of the city.’But they also have some unexpected social benefits.‘If you’ve got a street lined with trees, it actually makes drivers slow down and makes the street a safer place. They also increase property values.’
Communities come together to plant and also water and care for trees, and young people have benefited from green skills training and even jobs. Now Trees for Cities is working on Tree Equity. ‘It takes different pieces of data. How many trees are there already, which is called the canopy cover score. The recommended minimum in the UK is 20%, but most places are falling short of that.’
One of those places is the northern English town of Hartlepool, which is also an area of socio-economic deprivation – another factor in the calculation of Tree Equity. ‘Hartlepool has the second lowest Tree Equity score in England. ‘We’re going to work with the local authority and the residents, planting the trees and looking to make them a tree city of the world.’
