Islington marks start of COP27 by joining Trees for Streets scheme

The council is determined to tackle the climate emergency by creating a cleaner, greener, healthier, more equal Islington, and is placing the local community at the heart of this.    

During the 2021/22 financial year, the council planted more than 700 trees – including more than 150 that were donated through the Forest for Change exhibition at Somerset House, in a joint project between the council and Islington Clean Air Parents. Meanwhile, the council recently announced that 38 community-led green projects are set to be delivered through its Greener Together programme, subject to public engagement and feasibility assessments.   

To complement its ambitious tree-planting programme, the council has partnered with national tree sponsorship scheme Trees for Streets. The scheme is run by the charity Trees for Cities, who aim to plant more than 250,000 street trees nationwide over the next 10 years by hosting online tree sponsorship schemes on behalf of councils.      

It means that, from today, local people and groups can use Trees for Streets’ online platform to make an application for a tree in their area by providing a few details and making a donation. The council will assess the applications, with the first trees set to be planted in the winter, which is the best time to plant young trees to ensure they grow and thrive.

Trees for Streets is supported by the Mayor of London, who has pledged match funding for the Islington scheme - meaning that, for every tree sponsored by a resident or business between now and March 2023, another tree will be planted in a priority location. This will help boost Islington’s already impressive canopy cover of 25%. 

Cllr Rowena Champion, Islington Council’s Executive Member for Environment, Air Quality, and Transport, said: “The launch of COP27 provides an opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to tackling the climate emergency, and to creating a cleaner, greener, healthier Islington that’s more equal for all.      

“We’re on a mission to make Islington’s streets greener and more resilient to climate change, by planting more trees and by enabling fantastic community-led initiatives through our Islington Greener Together programme. Supporting and empowering local people to make environmentally-friendly changes in their communities is key to achieving net zero carbon status by 2030, and joining Trees for Streets supports this.    

“We hope communities will come together to help create a cleaner, greener, healthier borough, by getting more trees planted in our streets.”        

Through the scheme, residents can sponsor the planting of a tree on their own street, or can sponsor Celebration Trees in one of the borough’s parks and green spaces. Celebration Trees can be sponsored for all sorts of reasons: as a lasting and sustainable memorial to a loved one, to mark a special occasion, as a unique and meaningful gift, or just because you love trees and want to give something back to your community.      

Simeon Linstead, Project Director of Trees for Streets, said: “We’re delighted to have Islington Council on board, and look forward to people getting involved with the scheme. The additional injection of funding from the Mayor of London means even more trees can be planted to benefit local residents.      

“There’s something special about having a new tree planted in your street, and we want local communities to benefit from everything that street trees can offer.”   

Beyond sponsoring a tree, there are lots of other ways for people to get involved. Once each street tree is planted, it will need watering every week throughout the summer for three years to give it the best chance of survival, and any litter or weeds will need removing to make sure it thrives.      

As well as being supported by the Mayor of London, Trees for Cities is funded by the Government’s Green Recovery Challenge Fund, City Bridge Trust, and the People’s Postcode Lottery.