Thank you for planting trees with us! 

In January 2026, volunteers from the local community, schools and other community organisations joined us to plant nearly 1000 new trees in Millwall Park. We ran workshops with four local schools, the Single Homeless Project and LOOK UK, as well as hosting a Community Planting Day which welcomed 94 adults and 43 children as volunteers. 

Trees for Cities is committed to ongoing watering, maintenance and establishment of the new trees for 3 years, after which the trees will be cared for by Tower Hamlets Council. 

Interested in learning more about local planting opportunities in Tower Hamlets? Email community@treesforcities.org for more information. 

Why are we planting trees here?

Trees for Cities and local volunteers planted trees to introduce new species, provide more seasonal colour and shade, improve biodiversity and increase climate resilience.  You can explore the plans using the links below. 

We planted 40 standard trees, which are young trees at least 6 feet tall and around 8-12 years old. Half of these standards are new additions to the space, while the other half replaced ones that struggled to survive in challenging circumstances. All trees planted were carefully selected for their suitability at the site and will be looked after by Trees for Cities staff for 3 years to encourage their establishment. After this period, the trees will be under the care of environment maintenance and park teams at Tower Hamlets Council.

The majority of new trees have been arranged for the benefit of park users (as well as other wildlife) near high use areas, such as the paths, children's play area and outdoor gym. We have taken care not to affect the playing field space used for sports. Together the native and non-native species chosen provide an important and interesting mix in a range of shapes and sizes as they mature, to increase biodiversity and climate adaptation and provide seasonal interest, while also being tough enough to withstand difficult urban conditions. In time these trees will also provide shade and cooling effects in summer months. 

What types of trees were planted?

The Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas) has yellow spring flowers, bright red and edible fruits in summer and reddish-purple leaves in autumn. Paul's hawthorn (Crataegus media paul's scarlet) has bunches of pink flowers in spring, while trees like the Japanese zelkova (Zelkova serrata) and Japanese rowan (Sorbus commixta) have bright-coloured leaves as they change in autumn. The European nettle (Celtis australis), Wild service tree (Sorbus torminalis) and Lebanese wild apple (Malus trilobata) all have edible fruit popular with birds and other wildlife. 

The English walnuts (Juglans regia) and Gingkos (Gingko biloba) were chosen to suit the environments near the park mounds, and we built on the existing hedge line on the eastern side of the park with native hedge species. This involved planting whips - these are small trees only 30-50cm tall.  In time they will provide a rich habitat for wildlife and define the boundary better between road and park. 

We hope these trees are a welcome improvement to the park and provide lasting benefits to the environment and the local community. 

Thank you for sharing feedback with us during the community consultation. If you have any more questions or comments about the tree species, please get in touch with community@treesforcities.org .