Beat the Heat Appeal

Thank you to everyone who supported our appeal - together we raised an incredible £7,854 to help our young trees thrive this summer. 

Find out how and why we're caring for young city trees below. 

Young trees in need

Like us, trees need extra care and attention in their first few years. 

While their roots systems are small they can struggle to get enough water to survive and thrive, particularly in dry or hot weather. 

With extreme weather becoming more common plus the extra pressures of city life - poor soil, heat from pavements, limited space - it's even harder for young trees to put down strong roots. 

And while we can't control the weather, we can give our young trees a helping hand. 

Bupa Maintenance Day 130625 Saoirse Clohessy 13 landscape hires 1
Each summer we care for thousands of young trees, like this one in London Victoria Park

How we support our young trees

We look after our trees for their first three years, supporting them while they grow roots deep enough to sustain themselves.

During the summer months we'll help each tree by:

  • Watering each tree up to every 10 days (even in the rain!)
  • Removing weeds which compete with the tree for nutrients and water
  • Reapplying mulch to lock moisture in the soil
  • Checking tree guards and straps to make sure they're supporting the tree well
  • Completing establishment surveys to make sure the trees are thriving

98%

of trees we plant survive their first few years - compared to industry averages as low as 47% [1]

How you can help

Our Beat the Heat appeal has closed but it's not too late to support our work and young urban trees:

[1] Urban Tree Establishment, A Trees Outside Woodlands projects report July 2024

Donate to Trees for Cities and together we can help cities grow into greener, cleaner and healthier places for people to live and work worldwide.

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