The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, planted a tree at a Wandsworth-based community special school to commemorate funding half a million trees for London. TCV was there to celebrate as that ceremonial tree was a very special I Dig Trees tree.
The tree-planting event took place during National Tree Week and attended by TCV Trustee, Neal Ransome; Social & Environmental Activists and WWF Ambassadors, Tayshan Hayden-Smith and Kedar Williams-Stirling; students and eco-committee members from Garratt Park school and many other representatives from the partnership.
The occasion was one of celebration and made even more significant taking place during National Tree Week, which is a key moment for us to appreciate the huge benefits that trees offer, and why our I Dig Trees programme is so important.
TCV’s partnership with the Mayor of London goes back to 2018 and we’ve since given away 101,399 trees to Londoners. But it was the tree planting programme, Trees for London, that was set up in response to the extreme temperatures experienced during the summer of 2022 where we supported the Mayor of London with planting over 40,000 trees.
The trees cool the city and provide shade, as well as help protect from flooding and make London a greener city with access to healthy outdoor space. With these extraordinary benefits, we were incredibly proud to commemorate our joint achievements and provide the 500,000th tree that the Mayor planted at Garratt Park school.
Garratt Park school is the first school that we’re supporting with tree-planting and environmental education through the Mayor of London’s Young Ambassadors Programme. This initiative supports young people to engage in social action on local issues that they care about in a way that will improve their life chances, and build life-long skills and strong local communities.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “Trees are the lungs of London, cooling and protecting the city when we are facing increasing threats from climate change. This partnership with TCV has resulted in tens of thousands of trees being planted – making our environment greener, cleaning up our air and improving communities. Planting the 500,000th tree is a fantastic milestone, and I encourage Londoners to get involved with TCV’s ‘I Dig Trees’ campaign as we continue to build a greener, more liveable London for all.”
Thousands of free trees are available for London communities through I Dig Trees, our flagship community tree-planting programme that’s supported by the Mayor of London and now the largest community-led tree-planting project of its kind in the UK.
Taking part means Londoners can play their part in tackling climate change and make an improvement to the biodiversity of their local green space.
The hugely ambitious programme will link thousands of species-rich pocket forests across the UK, drawing on the groundswell of community spirit and connecting corridors for wildlife.
TCV invites Londoners to order their free trees here and support climate, wildlife and communities.
TCV Acting CEO, Debbie Adams said: “We at The Conservation Volunteers are incredibly proud to have been a part of this achievement of planting 500,000 trees in London. Our partnership with GLA and this commitment to planting more trees across London is very special for climate, wildlife, and communities. By planting more trees, we are not only creating a greener and more beautiful environment for future generations, but also helping to improve air quality, reduce noise pollution, and provide habitats for wildlife. At the very heart of TCV’s mission is to connect people and green spaces, and this partnership will help to achieve our goal.”
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