 Big Tree Plant Campaign Logo | |
| A Government-sponsored tree planting campaign in England overview | |
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| Formed | 2010 |
The Big Tree Plant was a Government-sponsored campaign in England in 2010, to promote the planting of trees in neighbourhoods where people lived and worked. [1] [2] The national campaign ran over four years from 2011 to 2015 and met its objective to plant one million trees. [3] [4]
The campaign aimed to halt the ongoing decline in urban and semi-urban tree planting in England and was the first such initiative since Plant A Tree In '73 . [1] [2] The decline was highlighted by a survey of urban trees in England carried out in 2005 (published as the report Trees in Towns II in 2008), which found that there had been a 'big reduction' in urban tree planting (compared to a similar 1992 survey) leading to an 'unsatisfactory age structure' with too few young trees, and which concluded that the issue should be 'urgently addressed'. [5]
In London a separate 2007 report, Chainsaw Massacre, found that there were concerns about planting rates in some boroughs, and that mature broadleaf street trees throughout London were under 'severe threat' due to a mixture of development pressures, reduced expenditure, public apathy and antipathy, and (often unsubstantiated) concerns by insurance companies, solicitors and home-owners over subsidence. [6] Both reports also expressed concern over the practice of planting smaller ornamental species rather than native broadleaf trees such as London plane, lime and oak.
Funding of £4.2m was to be made available for community, civic and other non-profit groups from April 2011. [7] In addition to covering planting costs, grants could be used for related purposes such as community involvement, site surveys and the provision of expert advice. [2] £4m of the funding allocation was promised by the Forestry Commission [2] through 'efficiency savings and re-prioritisation', [8] while the remaining £200,000 came from the existing London Tree and Woodland Community Grant. [9] The independently chaired Big Tree Plant Grants Panel included representatives from civil society organisations, DEFRA, and the Forestry Commission, and met each spring and summer to award funds. [10]
In advance of the main funding, Keep Britain Tidy - one of the partners supporting the initiative - had already invited applications for planting kits from schools in the Government's Eco-School programme. [11] [12]
The funding arrangements, specifically the fact that the grants would normally only cover up to 75% of the cost of each scheme (although free labour could be offset against this), [14] was criticised by some as favouring better-off over deprived communities. [15] Other projects which coordinated external funding from local stakeholders were more successful. [16]
The government stated that “Seventy percent of the trees in The Big Tree Plant programme were being planted in England’s most deprived areas.” [17] [18] The programme was generally well received. 62,336 trees were planted in the Mersey Forest representing 6% of England's total Big Tree Plant target of 1 million trees. [3] Conservation Volunteers and community groups also managed to plant over 143,000 trees all around England during the programme. [19] [13]
The DEFRA-led The Big Tree Plant campaign was backed by a number of partners including The Tree Council, Woodland Trust, Trees for Cities, England's 12 Community Forests, the National Forest, BTCV, Civic Voice, Groundwork UK, Keep Britain Tidy, the Local Government Association, the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Forestry Commission. [1]
The national campaign's partnership planted one million trees between 2011 and 2015. [20] [4]
Arbor Day is a secular day of observance in which individuals and groups are encouraged to plant trees. Today, many countries observe such a holiday. Though usually observed in the spring, the date varies, depending on climate and suitable planting season.
The conservation movement, also known as nature conservation, is a political, environmental, and social movement that seeks to manage and protect natural resources, including animal, fungus, and plant species as well as their habitat for the future. Conservationists are concerned with leaving the environment in a better state than the condition they found it in. Evidence-based conservation seeks to use high quality scientific evidence to make conservation efforts more effective.
Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. The science of forestry has elements that belong to the biological, physical, social, political and managerial sciences. Forest management plays an essential role in the creation and modification of habitats and affects ecosystem services provisioning.
The Woodland Trust is the largest woodland conservation charity in the United Kingdom and is concerned with the creation, protection, and restoration of native woodland heritage. It has planted over 50 million trees since 1972.
The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the management of publicly owned forests and the regulation of both public and private forestry in England.
Tree planting is the process of transplanting tree seedlings, generally for forestry, land reclamation, or landscaping purposes. It differs from the transplantation of larger trees in arboriculture and from the lower-cost but slower and less reliable distribution of tree seeds. Trees contribute to their environment over long periods of time by providing oxygen, improving air quality, climate amelioration, conserving water, preserving soil, and supporting wildlife. During the process of photosynthesis, trees take in carbon dioxide and produce the oxygen we breathe.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is a department of His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom responsible for environmental protection, food production and standards, agriculture, fisheries and rural communities in the entire United Kingdom. Concordats set out agreed frameworks for co operation, between it and the Scottish Government, Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive, which have devolved responsibilities for these matters in their respective nations.
Urban forestry is the care and management of single trees and tree populations in urban settings for the purpose of improving the urban environment. Urban forestry involves both planning and management, including the programming of care and maintenance operations of the urban forest. Urban forestry advocates the role of trees as a critical part of the urban infrastructure. Urban foresters plant and maintain trees, support appropriate tree and forest preservation, conduct research and promote the many benefits trees provide. Urban forestry is practiced by municipal and commercial arborists, municipal and utility foresters, environmental policymakers, city planners, consultants, educators, researchers and community activists.
Afforestation is the establishment of a forest or stand of trees (forestation) in an area where there was no recent tree cover. Many government and non-governmental organizations directly engage in afforestation programs to create forests and increase carbon capture. Afforestation is an increasingly sought-after method to fight climate concerns, as it is known to increase the soil quality and organic carbon levels into the soil, avoiding desertification. Afforestation is mainly done for conservational and commercial purposes.
Delamere Forest is a large wood in the village of Delamere in Cheshire, England. The woodland, which is managed by Forestry England, covers an area of 972 hectares making it the largest area of woodland in the county. It contains a mixture of deciduous and evergreen trees.
American Forests is a 501(c)(3) non-profit conservation organization, established in 1875, and dedicated to protecting and restoring healthy forest ecosystems. The current headquarters are in Washington, D.C.
The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) is a sustainability organization operating in the U.S. and Canada that works across four pillars: standards, conservation, community, and education. SFI was founded in 1994 by the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA). SFI is the world's largest single forest certification standard by area. SFI is headquartered in Ottawa and Washington, D.C.
The Mersey Forest is a network of woodlands and green spaces being created across Merseyside and North Cheshire by a wide-ranging partnership of different organisations including local authorities, community groups and businesses. The Mersey Forest is the biggest of twelve community forests covering 420 square miles (1,100 km2) and accessible to a local population of 1.6 million people. It stretches from Sefton to the north of Liverpool and south to Northwich in Cheshire. Delamere Forest in the south of the area being the largest area of established woodland. The forest is seen as having a major role in attracting new business and tourism to the area.
Casey Trees is a non-profit organization established in 2001 to restore, enhance, and protect the tree canopy of Washington, D.C. The organization plants trees, engages volunteers in tree planting and care, offers an education program open to the public, monitors the District's tree canopy, and advocates and plans for the urban forest.
The United Kingdom, being in the British Isles, is ideal for tree growth, thanks to its mild winters, plentiful rainfall, fertile soil and hill-sheltered topography. In the absence of people, much of Great Britain would be covered with mature oaks, except for Scotland. Although conditions for forestry are good, trees do face damage threats arising from fungi, parasites and pests. The development of afforestation and the production and supply of timber in Wales come under Natural Resources Wales, as set out in the Forestry Act 1967.
Air pollution in the United Kingdom has long been considered a significant health issue, and it causes numerous other environmental problems such as damage to buildings, forests, and crops. Many areas, including major cities like London, are found to be significantly and regularly above legal and recommended pollution levels. Air pollution in the UK is a major cause of diseases such as asthma, lung disease, stroke, cancer, and heart disease, and is estimated to cause forty thousand premature deaths each year, which is about 8.3% of deaths, while costing around £40 billion each year.
Environmental inequality in the United Kingdom is the way in which the quality of the environment differs between different communities in the UK. These differences are felt across a number of aspects of the environment, including air pollution, access to green space and exposure to flood risk.
Urban reforestation is the practice of planting trees, typically on a large scale, in urban environments. It may also include urban horticulture and urban farming.
Tree Canada is a non-profit charitable organization that promotes the planting and nurturing of trees in Canada's urban and rural areas. It provides tree-related education, technical assistance and resources to communities, corporations, individuals and non-profit organizations.
A community orchard is a collection of fruit trees shared by communities and growing in publicly accessible areas such as public greenspaces, parks, schools, churchyards, allotments or, in the US, abandoned lots. Such orchards are a shared resource and not managed for personal or business profit. Income may be generated to sustain the orchard as a charity, community interest company, or other non-profit structure. What they have in common is that they are cared for by a community of people.
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