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Our work with The Climate Coalition

We're an active member of The Climate Coalition, a group of over 100 organisations dedicated to limiting the impact of climate change on the people, places and life we love.

Hundreds of our supporters and staff lobbied MPs in person in 2019, and virtually in June 2020.

Credit: Luke Dray

We’re an active member of The Climate Coalition. As the voice for native woods and trees, we need to highlight:

  • the challenges they face from climate change
  • their role as part of the solution in managing its effects.

Climate change, woods and trees

The trees that line our streets and gardens. The hedges that adorn our countryside. The woods where we walk. They provide and purify our air, clean and encourage water storage, give our wildlife homes, lock up carbon and make our landscapes green and beautiful.

But trees, woods and wildlife are under threat from the impacts of extreme weather and uncertain seasons.

Fluctuating seasonal changes and extreme weather threaten our trees, woods and wildlife.

Credit: Phil Lockwood / WTML

Climate change exacerbates the likelihood of tree pests and disease. Fluctuating seasonal changes knock species out of sync with each other. The impacts of storms and drought may fragment already declining habitats and affect the range of some species. The natural world could struggle to adapt in its battle for survival. As a habitat made up of unique and delicate ecosystems, ancient woodland is particularly vulnerable.

We’re working to help woods and trees weather these changes. We promote their role in both rural and urban settings as part of the toolkit for tackling the impacts of climate change. We raise awareness of the issues and encourage personal action, such as planting trees. And as an organisation we continue to reduce our own impact on the environment.

Position statement

Climate change – the Woodland Trust's position

PDF  (243 KB)

The Woodland Trust protects and restores woodland, increasing the resilience of natural ecosystems in the face of challenges posed by climate change.

Read our position statement

Working with The Climate Coalition

Show the Love

Every year around Valentine’s Day, our friends at The Climate Coalition encourage us to show the love for the places, people, and life that we want to protect from climate change. This year it focused on taking  personal actions – like planting trees.

A virtual lobby for a green recovery

On 30 June, our staff and supporters were among more than 14,000 people in a virtual mass lobby of the Westminster Parliament. They asked MPs to put people, climate and nature at the heart of our nation’s recovery. 

There’s still time to be part of the movement. You can sign up to lobby your MP until October 2020, and sign the Climate Coalition’s declaration pressing for Government to lead the UK towards a healthier, greener and fairer future.

Get involved