At Trees for Cities, we believe nature-based solutions are key to tackling the climate crisis and see first-hand how trees have the power to transform urban neighbourhoods.

Here are just a few of our planting projects which have brought hope to schools, communities and local areas.

Reducing flood risk in schools

Working with schools in Leicester, we revamped playgrounds that were susceptible to flooding with new gardens, trees and planters as part of a natural approach to managing localised flood risk.

Sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) can help reduce the risk of flooding by holding excess water in purpose-built wetland areas, swales, trenches, or rain gardens, and away from buildings. Trees can intercept rainfall via their large leaves and some of the rain collected on these leaves evaporates back into the atmosphere, taking the pressure off drainage systems in urban areas.

Aside from mitigating flood risk and encouraging biodiversity, this project improved the outside playground space for both staff and pupils to use and enjoy.

Combatting the urban heat island effect

Cities are classified as urban heat islands due to their relative warmth compared to rural areas, fuelled by human activities such as transport emissions and concrete surfaces that absorb heat. Urban trees have the ability to reduce urban heat by between 2ºC to 8ºC, through canopy shade and transpiration.

The trees we plant can help to combat the effects of urban heat islands, including recent planting in Glamis Estate and Sipson Meadow. These trees in these places will help boost biodiversity, add more seasonal colour, and provide much-needed shade in the future as the UK faces increasingly hotter, drier summers.

These trees will be a welcome improvement to their local areas and bring lasting benefits to the environment and the local communities.

Improving air quality

Grange Primary School in Southwark was situated in a high-density polluted area. Before we implemented our Planting Healthy Air project, the playground wasn't suitable for healthy outdoor play and learning.

Through co-design with students, we transformed their once bare playground into a leafy oasis with greenery planted, vegetable beds built to encourage food-growing, and engaging spaces for pupils to feel more connected to nature.

We measured the effectiveness of the new green infrastructure and found that along with positive changes in attitudes, lower pollution was found around the woodland area in comparison to near the school gates.

As part of our partnership with BUPA, we're continuing our work on Planting for Air Quality in Tower Hamlets and have selected two sites where we're planting hedges to screen pollution.

At Padstow House, the hedge we planted will create a barrier against pollution from the road for the estate's green space. At Millwall Park, we'll be planting a hedge next year which will screen a footpath in the park from road pollution.

We're taking baseline measurements using air quality monitors at both sites to assess pollution levels, looking to turn these sites into long-term studies of how effectively our planting can screen out harmful pollutants.

How you can help

This is just some of the impact we hope to continue to bring to more people and places through our future planting projects! We know we can make a positive and tangible difference to urban communities across the country, but we can't do this alone.

With your support, we can plant more trees in areas that need them most. Over the coming years, these trees will help cool streets, clean air, create habitats, mitigate flood risks, improve health and wellbeing, and more - for all to benefit from.