Success for Wales-wide tree planting project as 300,000 trees find homes
Digital Communications Officer - Wales
Hundreds of thousands of trees have been planted across Wales thanks to the Welsh Government’s My Tree, Our Forest project, delivered by Coed Cadw, the Woodland Trust in Wales, and Llais y Goedwig.
In 2022, My Tree, Our Forest was launched to help mitigate the effects of climate change with trees available through a number of routes.
The project saw thousands of households across Wales collect a tree to plant at home, free of charge, helping to kickstart a National Forest for Wales.
In a pilot phase in March 2022, five collection hubs facilitated by Coed Cadw opened across Wales. Subsequent phases in winter 2022 and 2023 saw a further 66 hubs opened to keep up with demand.
Ten different species of native and broadleaf trees were available to choose from and take home, meaning thousands of hazel, rowan, hawthorn, silver birch, crab apple, sessile oak, dogwood, dog rose, field maple and elder trees are now growing in gardens and communities around Wales.
Almost 30,000 trees were given away from the collection hubs, and 33,000 through a postal option, meaning over 60,000 trees have been planted in gardens across the country. A further 17,000 trees have been planted by landowners through the 'plant a tree for me' option, which allowed those with a Welsh postcode to apply online for a tree to be planted on their behalf, if they weren’t able to plant a tree at home.
225,000 trees were also distributed to various projects, community groups, private landowners with space for trees, charities (including the National Trust), local councils, and planting projects with public bodies on behalf of My Tree, Our Forest. Added to the 9,000 trees that were planted by schools in Wales through Keep Wales Tidy, the total number of trees in the ground came to more than 300,000.
Natalie Buttriss, director of Coed Cadw said: “People from every corner of the country came together to play their part in My Tree, Our Forest and we want to thank everyone who stepped up to claim their tree – whether that was to plant at home, or in their name. Together, we have laid the roots for positive action against climate change in Wales by collectively growing a National Forest.”
Minister for Climate Change Julie James said: “My Tree, Our Forest has been an incredible campaign that has seen 300,000 trees planted in Wales. I want to thank everyone who planted a tree for themselves, their families and friends, and our future generations in Wales.
“Over the past year, people have collected native trees from one of our nationwide hubs run by our expert volunteers, have gone online to ‘plant a tree for me’ at one of our designated sites, or they have ordered trees through the post. With schools, local authorities and landowners signed up to plant trees in their playgrounds, communities and fields.
“I want to thank Coed Cadw and Llais Y Goedwig’s army of volunteers who distributed the trees - sharing advice, knowledge and smiles to everyone who took part.
“We’ve already had positive meetings with our project partners to continue building on the success of My Tree, Our Forest and the interest it’s generated with the people of Wales, playing a part in Climate Change Coalition’s ambitious target of planting 82 million trees in Wales alone.
“We hope that ‘Team Wales’ continues to help us by getting involved and doing their bit, whilst reaping the benefits of connecting with nature.”
For more information, please visit: woodlandtrust.org.uk/wales-giveaway.
Notes to editors
For more information please contact the Woodland Trust press office on 01476 602993, or email media@woodlandtrust.org.uk or sophiethomas@woodlandtrust.org.uk.
Trees given away:
- Collection hubs: 29,295
- Postal trees : 33,224
- Plant a tree for me: 17,546
- 225,000 for a range of community projects, charitable organisations and landowners across Wales
- 9,000 trees were planted by schools in Wales through Keep Wales Tidy.
The first 5,000 trees were given away in March 2022 as part of a pilot before the scheme was rolled out fully across Wales in November 2022.
Hubs closed over Christmas and reopened across Wales from 20 February and closed on 31 March 2023 as the scheme came to an end.
Volunteers advised on the best tree for households to collect but the species available included: hazel, rowan, hawthorn, silver birch, crab apple, sessile oak, dogwood, dog rose, field maple and elder.
66 hubs opened in total – 56 distribution hubs and 10 pop-up hubs.
About Coed Cadw, The Woodland Trust in Wales
The Woodland Trust is the largest woodland conservation charity in the UK. It has over 500,000 supporters. It wants to see a UK rich in native woods and trees for people and wildlife.
The Trust has three key aims:
- protect ancient woodland, which is rare, unique and irreplaceable.
- restoration of damaged ancient woodland, bringing precious pieces of our natural history back to life.
- plant native trees and woods with the aim of creating resilient landscapes for people and wildlife.
Established in 1972, the Woodland Trust now has over 1,000 sites in its care covering approximately 29,000 hectares. These include over 100 sites in Wales, with a total area of 2,897 hectares (7,155 acres). Access to its woods is free, so everyone can benefit from woods and trees.
The Trust’s Welsh language name, “Coed Cadw”, is an old Welsh term, used in mediaeval laws to describe protected or preserved woodland.