How to get involved as an individual or community group

A key focus of this project is promoting greater depth of community engagement in planning, planting, maintenance and enjoyment of trees in the capital.

Why not get your hands dirty and feed your soul with green volunteering?

If you want to get hands on with creating or helping to create or care for treescapes, email laura@cprelondon.org.uk about joining a local friends of greenspace group. 

If you know of a site that would benefit from trees, and would like to help make this vision a reality, please do contact Laura on the email address above who can check if there is current friends group related to this site, or if there isn’t one can still advise on next steps in terms of getting the necessary permission for action.

We want to grow London’s treescapes by rooting them in the best possible information about the suitability of different sites and how tree cover can be increased in a way that maximises the benefits for people, nature and the planet.  The information we are gathering is currently being used by Trees for Cities and TCV to better inform proactive engagement with landowners and community groups and by Common to identify sites that might be suitable for bringing into community ownership.

We are currently particularly keen to hear from potential volunteers with some knowledge of ecology and biodiversity issues based in London’s outer boroughs who would be willing, with a bit of training, to visit and help gather further information on specific sites that have been identified thus far.  If you would be interested to know more please email hr@cprelondon.org.uk.

If you live in inner London we want to hear from you about local sites that may be suitable for woodland or other treescape creation on sites along the key radial walking or cycling routes for London. Here are a few ideas about the kinds of sites that might be suitable to get your creative juices flowing.

• areas of underused greenspace with no clear identity which could be doing so much more for people, nature and the planet – especially where these have been fenced off, fly-tipped or otherwise degraded
• areas near to key walking or cycling routes to make these more appealing
• room in edges of allotment areas for new orchard or nut trees or edible hedgerows
• room around the periphery of playing fields to create wooded areas to provide shade for spectators on hot days and a place for players to retreat after the game and to offer appealing walks for those less able to participate in team sports
• areas in cemeteries with potential to become woodland burial areas
• adding interest to areas of species-poor grassland (not species-rich chalk or acid grassland)
• opportunities for planting or natural regeneration by changing land management on the buffer lands around existing woodland – or sites that would help link up wooded areas
• opportunities for woodland creation in land bordering London’s rivers and streams that could contribute to improved water quality
• opportunities for using hedgerows to help filter air and noise pollution as well as providing valuable corridors for wildlife

Once proposed sites have been received – we will do further research to check their suitability – but information from local people is always incredibly valuable!  Please send your thoughts and ideas to woodlandcreation@cprelondon.org.uk with the subject line ‘Greening London’s walking/cycling routes’.

Donate here

If you are able to make a donation large or small to support this work, that would be amazing and very much appreciated.  Every little counts! You can donate here.