55,000 free trees up for grabs in London

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has announced that 55,000 free trees are up for grabs for Londoners to plant in their gardens and shared green spaces, and for larger community led ‘plant-athons’.

The 55,000 free trees are part of a total of 95,000 new trees that Khan is helping Londoners plant this autumn and winter, including during National Tree Week, which runs from 23 November – 1 December 2019.

Trees in the capital are estimated to provide at least £133 million of benefits every year including removing pollution and carbon dioxide from the air and reducing flood risk. The free trees follow last month’s successful ‘Give It A Grow’ campaign, where 10,000 Londoners collected free planting kits to help bees and butterflies pollinate.

Khan said: “London has some of the best green spaces and our commitment to preserving and increasing our tree canopy is one of the main reasons we are the world’s first National Park City. I want to encourage as many Londoners as possible to apply for our free tree packs, either for their own gardens or for organising community tree planting events, from schools to hospitals. Simple steps like planting trees help us as we address the climate and ecological crisis - and I look forward to thousands of new trees being planted across the city during National Tree Week.”