How trees capture and store carbon
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Photosynthesis is made simple as you take a journey into the leaf of a tree and discover how trees capture and store carbon.
See how it worksHelp lock up carbon with a donation
Your donation to help us protect and care for our woods.
Did you know?
The average person in the UK is responsible for 5.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions a year.* When you include other factors such as overseas flights, UK consumption of imports and the impact of other greenhouse gases, this figure may effectively double.
You can help tackle climate change
Capturing and storing carbon from the atmosphere is vital in the fight against climate change. The 1,000-plus woodlands cared for by the Woodland Trust absorb and lock-up many tonnes of carbon each year in trees, shrubs and soils.
By making a donation, you’ll help protect and add to this extensive carbon store, ensuring it continues to absorb emissions, as well as creating natural havens for wildlife and people.
I was looking at ways of reducing my environmental impact and wanted something UK based that I could potentially visit and engage with. It seems to me that doing it with trees is a much more sensible idea than trying to find some crazy technological solution. It’s a win-win. It’s not expensive in the grand scheme of things and it’s easy to do.
Carbon donor from Manchester
Donate today
Every £100 donated will help us care for enough woodland to capture and store around four tonnes of carbon.
Our woods effectively absorb carbon and need to be maintained and cared for; your donation will help us to continue to do this. A donation to the above is neither an accredited offset programme nor a carbon credit purchasing scheme.
How do trees take in and store carbon?
Woods and forests are like great carbon sinks, absorbing atmospheric carbon and locking it up for centuries. They do this through photosynthesis.
See your money in action
Credit: Phil Formby / WTML
Ben Shieldaig
In 2019 we acquired our first mountain - Ben Shieldaig in the north-west Scottish Highlands. This stunning site is home to both ancient Caledonian pinewood and temperate rainforest. We are now working to ensure the survival of these rare woodland habitats and to help them spread through a combination of natural regeneration and new planting.
As well as combating climate change, our work here will benefit a host of rare wildlife, including golden eagles, pine martens, otters and red squirrels.
Credit: Judith Parry / WTML
Heartwood Forest
In just ten years, we have transformed open Hertfordshire fields into England's largest area of uninterrupted woodland. More than half a million trees have been planted here, each once capable of absorbing carbon as it grows. As the trees have returned, so has wildlife; birds, butterflies and wildflowers are increasingly abundant as nature once again takes hold.