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The Big Tree Plant was a Government-sponsored campaign in
,
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
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 b ...
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 DEFRA may refer to:
* Deficit Reduction Act of 1984, United States law
* Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, United Kingdom government department
{{Disambiguation ...
, 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 respon ...
, 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
Development or developing may refer to:
Arts
*Development hell, when a project is stuck in development
*Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting
*Development (music), the process thematic material is reshaped
* Photograph ...
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 intere ...
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 ori ...
, and (often unsubstantiated) concerns by insurance companies, solicitors and home-owners over subsidence
Subsidence is a general term for downward vertical movement of the Earth's surface, which can be caused by both natural processes and human activities. Subsidence involves little or no horizontal movement, which distinguishes it from slope move ...
. 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 se ...
, lime
Lime commonly refers to:
* Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit
* Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide
* Lime (color), a color between yellow and green
Lime may also refer to:
Botany ...
and oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
.
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's Eco-School 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
TheDEFRA DEFRA may refer to:
* Deficit Reduction Act of 1984, United States law
* Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, United Kingdom government department
{{Disambiguation ...
-led The Big Tree Plant campaign was backed by a number of partners including The Tree Council
The Tree Council was founded in 1974 in the United Kingdom, and became a Charitable organization#Charity registration, registered charity in 1978. Its primary objective is to act as an umbrella organisation for local groups involved in the plant ...
, 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 Natural heritage, heritage. It has planted over 50 million trees since 1972 ...
, Trees for Cities
Trees for Cities is a UK charity which aims to plant urban trees and create greener cities. Since 1993, the organisation has reported that 125,000 volunteers have planted over 1,200,000 urban trees in parks, streets, woodlands, schools, hospital ...
, England’s 12 Community Forests, the National Forest, BTCV
The Conservation Volunteers (TCV) is a British community volunteering charity focused on environmental conservation through practical tasks undertaken by volunteers. Until 1 May 2012, it traded as BTCV – British Trust for Conservation Volunte ...
, 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-bran ...
, 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 respon ...
.
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, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges, which hav ...
*Green urbanism
Green urbanism has been defined as the practice of creating communities beneficial to humans and the environment. According to Timothy Beatley, it is an attempt to shape more sustainable places, communities and lifestyles, and consume less of the ...
*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 re ...
*Trees for Cities
Trees for Cities is a UK charity which aims to plant urban trees and create greener cities. Since 1993, the organisation has reported that 125,000 volunteers have planted over 1,200,000 urban trees in parks, streets, woodlands, schools, hospital ...
*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 eco ...
*Urban forestry
Urban forestry is the care and management of single trees and tree populations in Urban area, urban settings for the purpose of improving the urban environment. Urban forestry involves both planning and management, including the programming o ...
*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 are ...
* 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