Aimed at local authorities, charities and community groups,
the manual provides advice on selecting the right tree for
the right place in towns and cities – ensuring the views of
local communities are at the heart of decision-making and
residents are properly consulted before street trees are
felled.
Released during Green GB Week – a
week of action dedicated to celebrating clean growth – the
toolkit has been designed in recognition of the important
role urban trees play in the environment. These include
improving health and wellbeing, encouraging people to enjoy
the outdoors, absorbing noise and reducing temperatures.
Bringing together knowledge from organisations such as
the Forestry
Commission, Forest
Research and the Animal and Plant
Health Agency, the manual provides tips on choosing
planting location, tree type and soil to maximise the
environmental benefits, as well as highlighting the long
term threats to trees from pests, disease and climate
change.
Government Tree Champion Sir William Worsley said:
Whether they’re rooted in countryside woodland or in
urban cityscapes, trees make our environment more
attractive and a healthier place to live and work – which
is why expertise in the planting and maintenance of urban
trees is vital.
I hope this Urban Tree Manual will help to improve
decision-making around the country to make sure our
invaluable trees are preserved now - and for future
generations.
The toolkit builds on work already underway by local
authorities to help trees flourish, featuring case studies
such as the planting at The Queen Elizabeth
Olympic Park which focused on choosing climate
change resilient trees, and Observatree - a
collaborative citizen science project which aims to spot
new pest and disease threats to UK trees.
The release of the Urban Tree
Manual forms part of the government’s wider work
to protect and promote our precious trees, including our
commitment to plant one million trees in our towns and
cities and eleven million trees nationwide over the course
of this parliament.
Protecting and planting more trees is a key part of our
ambitious 25-Year Environment
Plan, which will ensure we leave this environment in a
better state for the next generation.
