By Hadyn Simpson, TCV Volunteer
Across York and Hull, tree planting undertaken by TCV has become a consistent programme of practical environmental work. Every year volunteers and staff have worked alongside each other to restore hedgerows and plant trees, all while improving local green spaces that yield positive consequences for communities and wildlife.
This work helps guide TCV’s wider approach to conservation, where nature recovery can be achieved through hands-on action that is locally embedded, inclusive and accessible. In York and Hull, this approach has taken form through partnership with Humber Forest, whose support has allowed for depth and scale in planting.
Tree Planting In Practice
A tree planting day with TCV begins quite simply. Volunteers make their way to a site that may look unremarkable at first (bare soil, grass, open ground). With guidance from trained staff, tools are shared out, jobs are described and work commences.
Over the course of the day, gradual progress is made. Volunteers work in groups, preparing the ground, planting young trees and placing hedgerow whips carefully to give them a good chance of becoming established as part of the ecosystem. Conversation flows passionately alongside the physical work, and by the end of the session, visible change has started to unfold.
It is this hands-on approach that lies at the core of TCV’s work. It allows people to take part directly in caring for local environments, while contributing to something tangible that will continue to grow long after the day itself.
Impacts That Reach Beyond the Day of Work
For lots of volunteers, tree planting offers a practical response to growing concern about climate change and biodiversity loss, the results to which are often attested in the media. These challenges can feel hard to face, so planting trees provides a way to act locally with results that can be seen and sustained
Gillian Darton, who has volunteered with TCV in York since 2023, explains:
“At a time when our climate is truly in crisis and we are losing species at an alarming rate, it is really helpful to feel I am doing something to help put a brake on this.”
For Gillian, there is value to be found in taking part – engaging in the process from beginning to end and seeing the outcome by the day’s climax.
“The satisfaction of looking around at the end of a day’s tree planting and seeing so many new trees ready to do their bit is heartening,” she adds.
People return to this work due to these experiences. Volunteering is not just a way to support nature, but also an avenue to build a sense of connection to the landscape and to others working beside you.
Achievements Unfolding Across Hull and York
With support from Humber Forest, TCV’s tree planting work across Hull and York has progressed into a programme of large scale. Since 2021:
This long-term effort is the result of ongoing collaboration between TCV staff, volunteers, schools, landowners and partner organisations. These projects are aiding in the strengthening of habitats, while connecting disconnected green spaces and improving local environmental resilience.
Recent planting in practice
Alongside this impact spanning several years, recent planting seasons show how this work continues to be delivered in practice.
Throughout a recent body of work sites in and around York and the wider Humber area, TCV teams worked with volunteers over 41 planting days, delivering:
- Over 20,000 trees and hedgerow plants
- Nearly 4 hectares of woodland creation
- Around 2.7 kilometres of hedgerow planting and restoration
- Involvement from more than 300 participants, including volunteers, staff and corporate volunteering groups
These sites ranged from small, carefully overseen woodland plots to larger hedgerow restorations, testament to the flexibility of the approach and importance of consistent volunteer involvement.
Tree planting in Hull
Across Hull, TCV’s Humber team has worked on tree planting in a range of urban and rural locations. Repeated planting seasons have seen open or underused land begin to take on new ecological features, developing into hedgerow and woodland networks that sustain wildlife and local communities alike.
More than 1,300 adult volunteers have taken part in planting activity across Hull sites since 2021, with almost 1,500 schoolchildren joining in on the effort through arranged sessions. Even over the challenging Covid period, planting carried on under adapted approaches that allowed work to continue safely.
As establishment progresses, early signs of change can be seen. Woodland structure is beginning to take shape, hedgerows are developing and landscapes are shifting gradually through continued care and maintenance.
Tree planting in York
In York, Humber Forest–supported work delivered by TCV illustrates a more site-focused way of pursuing shared foundational aims.
In York, tree planting is typically carried out across a range of smaller woodland and green space sites. Working in this way allows planting decisions to be guided by the specific conditions of each location, with attention given to species choice and long-term establishment as the sites develop.
At Pogles Wood, volunteers worked across several sessions in spring 2023, planting 864 young woodland trees across a 0.45-hectare site. Repeat visits allowed planting and early establishment to be approached carefully, with attention to the conditions on site to ensure they have the best chance of thriving.
Kate Riley, who has also volunteered with TCV in York since 2023, reflects:
“It is so rewarding to return for tree maintenance after a few months and see the trees thrive, then imagine them as fully grown features of the landscape. It makes you feel part of a bigger picture – holding nature in trust for future generations.”
When Collaboration Creates Structure
The scale and consistency of tree planting across Hull and York would not be possible without strong partnership. Central to this work is Humber Forest, one of England’s Community Forests, which supports tree planting across the region through funding, expertise and long-term planning.
In partnership with Humber Forest, sites are identified and planting plans developed with attention to place and long-term establishment. TCV teams then guide the work through delivery, drawing on staff experience and volunteer effort to move from planning to practice.
This partnership helps address practical barriers that can limit planting activity, allowing projects of different sizes (from small community sites to larger landscape-scale schemes) to stride ahead with confidence.
Beyond Planting
Tree planting does bring clear benefits to the environment, and its effects are felt just as clearly by those involved. For many, the value is held in time spent outdoor and the physical nature of the work. Values that spark the knowledge of contributing to something that will continue well beyond the present.
Elaine Hudson, a long-term volunteer with TCV in York, says:
“I get great satisfaction from planting trees, knowing that they will still be growing and providing huge benefits to the environment and to wildlife for many years after we are no longer around.”
What is taking place across Hull and York is not exceptional; it is repeatable. Through work supported by these organisations, people are able to take part in practical care for local green spaces, no matter their background. Small actions like these accumulate over time and leave long-standing imprints on the landscape, imprints that can be left by anyone with a love for our planet.
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