London Tree Ring - update on progress and opportunity for action!

Donate to the London Tree Ring Big Give appeal from 22 to 29 April you can double the impact of your gift.

Temperatures are rising across the globe and the impacts are already being felt. Some of these are already visible locally.  Globally, more and more people are losing their homes or facing hunger because of climate related disasters.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has warned that we must act now!

Trees can help fight climate change. Around 213 million tonnes of carbon is stored by UK woodlands through photosynthesis.

This is where the London Tree Ring project comes in.

CPRE London is leading the London Tree Ring Steering group which is working together to link up existing wooded areas to that we encircle the capital with trees winding through a rich mosaic of other habitat – creating a superhighway for nature around the capital.

It is crucial at this critical point in the climate and nature crisis that we act now to better protect existing trees in the ground – and as much new treescape creation as possible happens over the next few years and is not delayed as a matter for a future date!

So far, so good

Already, we have:

• carried out research into urban woodland creation around the world from which valuable recommendations for action have been made
• created an interactive map of woodland creation opportunity sites and a potential connectivity line showing how wooded areas around the capital could be linked up via the best opportunity sites for planting and intensified street planting to bridge more urbanised areas as part of the outer ringin partnership with Greenspace Information for Greater London.
• gathered details on over 200 opportunity sites around London suitable for treescape creation on which we are doing ongoing verification and ground-truthing work – and using this information plan to help London Tree Ring Steering Group members identify areas for proactive action
• begun visiting sites on the ground with Common (Woodland Savers) as they work to identify potential opportunities for bringing more land into community ownership.
• started engaging landowners offering support on growing the tree canopy in these areas, with Trees for Cities and The Conservation Volunteers and the Forestry Commission
• influenced the London Urban Forest Plan to include the better linking of Epping to Hainault Forest and on to Thames Chase Community Forest.  This is a priority segment of the London Tree Ring route , where we think there is good potential to make early progress.
• been systematically feeding back on local plan consultations in outer London around growing London’s Urban Forest and increasing connectivity to link up wooded sites – highlighting key opportunity sites
• a London Tree Ring Demonstrator Site has been planted by volunteers with Steering group member Trees for Cities with support from The Bupa Foundation.  Watch a really inspirational video about this here.
• we’ve recruited our first London Tree Ring Director who is poised and ready to take the project to the next level!

The delivery mechanisms we have identified are:

1. Influencing local plans and strategies to include the creation of connected treescapes round the capital, along key radial walking, cycling and wheeling routes, and connecting the most green deprived communities up to these active travel routes and London’s countryside.
2. Supporting landowners helping them access relevant funding, volunteer help, and site specific  support on designing treescapes that maximise the benefit for people as well as the planet.
3. Mobilising community groups on planting, aftercare, rewilding and caring for existing wooded areas.
4. Getting more sites into community ownership or owned, leased or managed by environmental bodies seeking land for planting trees or rewilding by finding sites for sale, or likely to come up for sale, in locations that could contribute to treescape connectivity.

The Big Give Green Match Fund

This is what we’ve done already on a shoestring – but imagine what we could do with more funding.  We have lots of exciting plans including further groundtruthing of sites along the outer ring, gathering details of sites for planting along radial walking and cycling routes connecting inner London to the outer ring, and doing a big push to get more demonstrator sites over the line in the coming planting season – showcasing the impact of the project delivery mechanisms.

If you donate TODAY your donation will be doubled through the Big Give Green Match Fund.  Please donate here: London Tree Ring – Big Give