Major progress on London Tree Ring in 2025

London Tree Ring initiative moves forward into with year 1 demonstrators

Winter 2025 sees the London Tree Ring project move forwards with an exciting selection of demonstrator projects across London, from food forests, connective hedgerows and micro forests to coppice creation, woodland diversification and community tree nursery development. 

We are working with a several environmental, conservation and community partners to showcase a selection of different planting types, with the objective of inspiring other groups from different parts of London to extend canopy cover in their own communities. 

To be kept up to date on the latest project activity and developments as they happen, follow us on Instagram (CPRElondon). 

Supporting the next generation of veteran trees with the London Tree Ring 

This winter see the beginning of a new collaboration between the London Tree Ring (LTR) Team and Trustees of Monken Hadley Common and woodland a 72ha area situated in Barnet, which is a relict fragment of Enfield Chase, along with Whitewebbs Wood in Enfield.  

Much of the Common comprises mixed deciduous woodland dominated by pedunculate oak Quercus robur and hornbeam Carpinus betulus and the woodland is home to a fantastic selection of veteran trees, which as well as being local heritage assets, also support a myriad of species, boosting the habitat and biodiversity value of the woodland. 

One of the challenges faced at Hadley Wood, is a lack of tree succession, with a good number of mature canopy trees, but a lack of younger trees and a diverse age structure with more limited ground flora diversity. 

Through the creation of new glades and the enhancement of naturally forming woodland glades, the LTR Team plan to work in collaboration with Trustees of Monken Hadley Common, to diversify the woodland structure, through the creation of several coppice coupes. 

Future coppice wood from the newly planting areas, will be used to support the longer-term management objectives at Hadley Wood, with coppice materials utilised to construct dead hedges to protect establishing young trees and also for haloing to protect the older generation of veteran trees. 

The London Tree Ring supports Food Forest creation with Roots Allotments 

Food Forests and Forest Gardens are growing in popularity in towns and cities around the UK and globally, with many communities interested in growing edible and useful plants, using more resilient and sustainable methods much in line with regenerative growing principles. 

The London Tree Ring team are exciting to be working in partnership with Roots Allotments, at the Meadow Hill Fields Allotment site in Croydon, where over the next few years, we hope to establish one of the biggest food forests in London. 

With over 40,000 individual allotment plots in the capital, the LTR Team see a great opportunity to increase the number of Food Forests within and on the fringes of communities, improving access to locally grown food, while supporting a host of different ecosystem services, from addressing flood risk and urban cooling, habitat and canopy connectivity. 

Growing the next generation of environmentalist with the London Tree Ring 

One of the core objectives of the London Tree Ring initiative is to equip more Londoners with the skills, knowledge and confidence to plant and care for trees in the capital and to support a succession of young people to progress towards careers in the London’s green sector.  

As the London Tree Ring progresses into our first year of practical delivery, we are nurturing a number of exciting partnership and collaborations with training and youth organisations, involving young people in our demonstrator projects and giving them an opportunity to participate in environmental social action. 

The Harington Scheme is a north London, City and Guilds training centre, offering a selection of training programmes to young Londoner, aiding progression to work and independence. The charity specialises in land-based training and offers supported employment placements as a stepping stone into mainstream work, through their trading arm. 

Trainees from the Harington Scheme will be supporting with the delivery of this years’ LTR demonstrator project at Hadley Wood and we have the objective to involve trainees in the longer-term delivery of the London Tree Ring objectives and woodland connectivity in North London. 

You will find some background on the work of the Harington Scheme here: https://youtu.be/QqzCXU8l9AI 

Micro Forests – Magnificent or Mad capped? 

Through collaboration with Sutton Borough Council’s Parks and Open Spaces team, the London Tree Ring team is excited to add an open space micro forests as one of our demonstrator projects for the 2025/26 planting season. 

Micro Forest are going in popularity, across Europe and globally for their ability to quickly establishing tree cover in reasonably small areas and have proven particularly useful urban locations. As well as extending canopy Micro Forest also offer a wealth of Ecosystem Service from water interception and addressing urban flooding, to pollution buffering, habitat connectivity and soil regeneration.