Trees for Cities secures £1.2M in second Green Recovery Challenge Fund
Trees for Cities, has been awarded a grant from the Government’s £40 million second round of the Green Recovery Challenge Fund, a multi-million-pound boost for green jobs and nature recovery.
The funding of over 1.2M secured by Trees for Cities will specifically focus on increasing tree cover in smaller coastal cities and towns with lower than average tree canopy cover and high levels of socio-economic deprivation.
Through the award, 55,000 trees will be planted across 83 locations in 7 coastal towns and cities, including projects to celebrate the Queen's Green Canopy and will be delivered through community tree planting events designed to green and revitalise forgotten coastal urban areas, engage local communities with nature and inspire a new generation to plant and protect urban trees. Project areas include:
- Bexhill on Sea
- Brighton & Hove
- Great Yarmouth
- Hull
- Portsmouth
- Ramsgate
- Stockton
Forgotten Places - Greening Coastal Towns, Cities
Despite significant resources that have been invested in planting programmes, many places, especially coastal locations, have been overlooked and risk being further left behind. Whilst the levelling-up agenda focuses on the north/south economic divide, coastal communities up and down the country are in dire need of a boost to resources to kick-start a new green economy.
There is also a strong correlation between low canopy cover (a measure of environmental deprivation) and social deprivation. This inequality means that people in deprived areas are also the most vulnerable to facing barriers to environmental justice and have less opportunity to benefit from urban trees.
David Elliott, Chief Executive of Trees for Cities, said: “We are thrilled to have been awarded this funding through the Green Recovery Challenge Fund. This grant is a fantastic step towards rebalancing the UK’s canopy cover towards our forgotten coastal towns and cities - tackling green inequality and deprivation for those more likely to face barriers to environmental justice.
We know that planting trees in cities has a hugely positive impact on people and our environment and that there is a strong correlation between low canopy cover and social deprivation. This funding will help us and our partners work together with local communities to provide green jobs and cultivate lasting change in neighbourhoods and coastal communities for generations to come.”
In total, ninety nature projects across England have been awarded grants from £68,100 to £1,950,000 to create and retain over 1,000 green jobs, backed by the Government’s £80 million Green Recovery Challenge Fund.
Work will be carried out on over 600 sites from North Northumberland to the tip of Cornwall, and combined with the first round, almost a million trees will be planted, contributing towards the Government’s commitment to treble tree planting rates across England by the end of this Parliament.
The Government's Green Recovery Challenge Fund was developed by Defra and its Arm's-Length Bodies The fund is being delivered by The National Lottery Heritage Fund in partnership with Natural England, the Environment Agency and Forestry Commission.
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