Plant trees for the environment

A family of teachers and scout leaders from Shropshire are planting a four-acre native woodland destined to be an outdoor learning resource for youth groups and schools

Trees contribute greatly to our local and national environments. They provide habitats for wildlife, store carbon, offer natural spaces for rest and relaxation, release oxygen, filter pollution and provide shade and shelter for livestock and animals.

Frequently asked questions

Trees in urban areas?
Trees and carbon?
Trees and water?
Next steps

Trees in urban areas

As the climate changes, trees and woodland can play an increasingly important role. In urban areas, they can help reduce what is known as the ‘urban heat island effect’, when town and city centres have a higher temperature than the surrounding countryside. High summer temperatures increase mortality and exacerbate air pollution, increasing ground level ozone. By providing shade and capturing air borne pollutants, trees help lower air temperatures and reduce the risk of respiratory diseases.

Trees and carbon

As trees grow they absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and lock it away for decades or even centuries. Roughly one quarter of a tree’s weight is carbon. Woodland soils, including those under hedges, can hold several times the amount of carbon in the trees themselves and continue to accumulate carbon year after year as leaf litter rots down.

Planting new native woods in the UK increases the size of the carbon "sink", helping to mitigate the effects of some of our greenhouse gas emissions. As trees and woods mature, they also provide vital new habitats helping wildlife to adapt to inevitable climate change.

For more information please see our pages on woods and carbon.

Trees and water

Woodland creation can reduce pollution entering water courses by as much as 90% without putting additional strain on water resources.  As an example, 99% of nitrates draining from arable fields in southern England during winter were retained by the first five metres of woodland planted with poplar trees – with tree buffers shown to also reduce sediment, phosphate and pesticide concentrations.

For more information please see our page on trees and water.

Next steps:

See how the Woodland Trust can help you plant trees for the environment.

More reasons to plant trees