Bucks Tree Mission flourishes with more than 193,000 trees planted so far
To coincide with Earth Day (Monday 22 April), Buckinghamshire Council is celebrating the significant progress made in its Bucks Tree Mission, with over 193,000 trees planted since the beginning of the programme.
The overall mission, which began in 2021, is to plant over 543,000 new trees on council-owned land in Buckinghamshire within a decade – one for every resident. This is part of the council’s comprehensive Climate Change and Air Quality Strategy.
The most recent tree planting season ran from October 2023 to March 2024. Key projects in the county have included a mix of large-scale tree planting on council land and a wide variety of local community planting initiatives, including several new Tiny Forests.
At Wing Wood, the final 23,000 trees have been planted, bringing this woodland up to its full complement of 132,000 trees. A well-attended volunteer day in Wing saw over 600 of the new trees planted by members of the local community.
Communities have also been enjoying opportunities to plant more Miyawaki forests in Buckinghamshire, with five of these Tiny Forests being planted over the last few months – totalling 3,000 trees planted with funding the council secured from the Local Authority Treescapes Fund. This funding has also enabled community planting in Stoke Hammond, Gerrards Cross, Buckingham and Marlow.
Trees provide a range of ecosystem services beyond capturing carbon, which will help deliver biodiversity and climate change adaptation improvements.
Thomas Broom, Buckinghamshire Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Environment, said:
"This winter has seen a fantastic community effort across the entire county, and it's inspiring to witness such progress in planting a whole new generation of trees in Buckinghamshire. Over the past three years, literally hundreds of volunteers of all ages, from individuals to school students and community groups, have come together to help us to plant an amazing 193,000 trees since the start of our programme.
“This is all part of our Bucks Tree Mission to plant over half a million trees in Buckinghamshire as part of our climate change commitment to reach net zero by 2050."
Find out more about Bucks Tree Mission