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The Big Tree Plant was a Government-sponsored campaign in
DEFRA, published 2010-12-02, accessed 2010-12-09Aims of The Big Tree Plant
,
The campaign aimed to halt the ongoing decline in urban and semi-urban tree planting in England and was the first such initiative since '' Plant A Tree In '73''. The decline was highlighted by a survey of urban trees in England carried out in 2005 (published as the report ''Trees in Towns II'' in 2008), which found that there had been a 'big reduction' in urban tree planting (compared to a similar 1992 survey) leading to an 'unsatisfactory age structure' with too few young trees, and which concluded that the issue should be 'urgently addressed'.
In London a separate 2007 report, ''Chainsaw Massacre'', found that there were concerns about planting rates in some boroughs, and that mature broadleaf street trees throughout London were under 'severe threat' due to a mixture of development pressures, reduced expenditure, public
The funding arrangements, specifically the fact that the grants would normally only cover up to 75% of the cost of each scheme (although free labour could be offset against this), was criticised by some as favouring better-off over deprived communities. Other projects which coordinated external funding from local stakeholders were more successful.
The government stated that “Seventy percent of the trees in The Big Tree Plant programme were being planted in England’s most deprived areas.” The programme was generally well received. 62,336 trees were planted in the Mersey Forest representing 6% of England's total Big Tree Plant target of 1 million trees. Conservation Volunteers and community groups also managed to plant over 143,000 trees all around England during the programme.
The Big Tree Plant
- official site
The benefits of urban trees
- Trees for Cities
W1W Street Tree planting initiative
in London which benefited from Big Tree Plant funding in 2012
The Mersey Forest
and the Big Tree Plant *The Big Tree Plant Campaig
OverviewNHS forest
and the Big Tree Plant {{DEFAULTSORT:Big Tree Plant Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Environmentalism in the United Kingdom Forests and woodlands of the United Kingdom Reforestation Town and country planning in England Urban design Projects established in 2010 Forestry events Trees of the United Kingdom 2010 establishments in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
in 2010, to promote the planting of tree
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...
s in neighbourhoods where people lived and worked.The Big Tree Plant: new partnership to plant one million treesDEFRA, published 2010-12-02, accessed 2010-12-09Aims of The Big Tree Plant
,
Forestry Commission
The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the management of publicly owned forests and the regulation of both public and private forestry in England.
The Forestry Commission was previously also respo ...
, accessed 2010-12-09 The national campaign ran over four years from 2011 to 2015 and met its objective to plant one million trees.
Background
The campaign aimed to halt the ongoing decline in urban and semi-urban tree planting in England and was the first such initiative since '' Plant A Tree In '73''. The decline was highlighted by a survey of urban trees in England carried out in 2005 (published as the report ''Trees in Towns II'' in 2008), which found that there had been a 'big reduction' in urban tree planting (compared to a similar 1992 survey) leading to an 'unsatisfactory age structure' with too few young trees, and which concluded that the issue should be 'urgently addressed'.
In London a separate 2007 report, ''Chainsaw Massacre'', found that there were concerns about planting rates in some boroughs, and that mature broadleaf street trees throughout London were under 'severe threat' due to a mixture of development pressures, reduced expenditure, public apathy
Apathy is a lack of feeling, emotion, interest, or concern about something. It is a state of indifference, or the suppression of emotions such as concern, excitement, motivation, or passion. An apathetic individual has an absence of inter ...
and antipathy
Antipathy is a dislike for something or somebody, the opposite of sympathy. While antipathy may be induced by experience, it sometimes exists without a rational cause-and-effect explanation being present to the individuals involved.
Thus, the or ...
, and (often unsubstantiated) concerns by insurance companies, solicitors and home-owners over subsidence. Both reports also expressed concern over the practice of planting smaller ornamental species rather than native broadleaf trees such as London plane
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...
, lime and oak.
Funding
Funding of £4.2m was to be made available for community, civic and other non-profit groups from April 2011. In addition to covering planting costs, grants could be used for related purposes such as community involvement, site surveys and the provision of expert advice. £4m of the funding allocation was promised by the Forestry Commission through 'efficiency savings and re-prioritisation', while the remaining £200,000 came from the existing London Tree and Woodland Community Grant. The independently chaired Big Tree Plant Grants Panel included representatives from civil society organisations, DEFRA, and the Forestry Commission, and met each spring and summer to award funds. In advance of the main funding, Keep Britain Tidy - one of the partners supporting the initiative - had already invited applications for planting kits from schools in the Government'sEco-School
Eco-Schools is an international programme of the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) that aims to “empower students to be the change our sustainable world needs by engaging them in fun, action-orientated, and socially responsible lear ...
programme.
Criticism and reactions
The funding arrangements, specifically the fact that the grants would normally only cover up to 75% of the cost of each scheme (although free labour could be offset against this), was criticised by some as favouring better-off over deprived communities. Other projects which coordinated external funding from local stakeholders were more successful.
The government stated that “Seventy percent of the trees in The Big Tree Plant programme were being planted in England’s most deprived areas.” The programme was generally well received. 62,336 trees were planted in the Mersey Forest representing 6% of England's total Big Tree Plant target of 1 million trees. Conservation Volunteers and community groups also managed to plant over 143,000 trees all around England during the programme.
Partners
The DEFRA-led The Big Tree Plant campaign was backed by a number of partners including The Tree Council,Woodland Trust
The Woodland Trust is the largest woodland conservation charity in the United Kingdom and is concerned with the creation, protection, and restoration of native woodland heritage. It has planted over 50 million trees since 1972.
The Woodland Tr ...
, Trees for Cities, England’s 12 Community Forests, the National Forest
A state forest or national forest is a forest that is administered or protected by some agency of a sovereign or federated state, or territory.
Background
The precise application of the terms vary by jurisdiction. For example:
* In Australia ...
, BTCV, Civic Voice
Civic Voice is the national charity for the civic movement in England. It was set up in 2010 following the demise of the Civic Trust. It is based in Birmingham at the Coffin Works. Its Executive Director and Joint Founder is Ian Harvey. The presi ...
, Groundwork UK
Groundwork UK is an environmental organisation in the United Kingdom. It is based in Birmingham and is a registered charity under English law.
History
In 1980, the Countryside Commission launched an initiative known as UFEX80. This was re-brand ...
, Keep Britain Tidy
Keep Britain Tidy is a UK-based independent environmental charity. The organisation campaigns to reduce litter, improve local places and prevent waste. It has offices in Wigan and London.
History
Keep Britain Tidy was originally set up by a conf ...
, the Local Government Association
The Local Government Association (LGA) is the national membership body for local authorities. Its core membership is made up of 339 English councils and the 22 Welsh councils through the Welsh Local Government Association.
The LGA is p ...
, the Department for Communities and Local Government
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), formerly the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for housing, communities, local government ...
and the Forestry Commission
The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the management of publicly owned forests and the regulation of both public and private forestry in England.
The Forestry Commission was previously also respo ...
.
The national campaign's partnership planted one million trees between 2011-2015.
See also
* Plant A Tree In '73 - a similar campaign in 1973. *Green belt
A green belt is a policy and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wilderness, wild, or agricultural landscape, land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenway (lan ...
* Green urbanism
*Tree planting
Tree-planting is the process of transplanting tree seedlings, generally for forestry, land reclamation, or landscaping purpose. It differs from the transplantation of larger trees in arboriculture, and from the lower cost but slower and less r ...
* Trees for Cities
*Urban forest
An urban forest is a forest, or a collection of trees, that grow within a city, town or a suburb. In a wider sense, it may include any kind of woody plant vegetation growing in and around human settlements. As opposed to a forest park, whose ec ...
*Urban forestry
Urban forestry is the care and management of single trees and tree populations in urban settings for the purpose of improving the urban environment. Urban forestry involves both planning and management, including the programming of care and ...
*Urban green space
In land-use planning, urban green space is open-space areas reserved for parks and other "green spaces", including plant life, water features -also referred to as blue spaces- and other kinds of natural environment. Most urban open spaces ar ...
* Urban reforestation
References
External links
The Big Tree Plant
- official site
The benefits of urban trees
- Trees for Cities
W1W Street Tree planting initiative
in London which benefited from Big Tree Plant funding in 2012
The Mersey Forest
and the Big Tree Plant *The Big Tree Plant Campaig
Overview
and the Big Tree Plant {{DEFAULTSORT:Big Tree Plant Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Environmentalism in the United Kingdom Forests and woodlands of the United Kingdom Reforestation Town and country planning in England Urban design Projects established in 2010 Forestry events Trees of the United Kingdom 2010 establishments in England