But cities and towns are facing rising temperatures, more frequent and extreme weather events and biodiversity loss. Without urgent action, cities will become hotter, more polluted and less resilient. And with almost 85% of us in the UK now living in urban areas, we need our trees more than ever.

1. They produce oxygen

It has been said that if trees produced free WiFi, we would be planting them in our cities like crazy. What they do produce is oxygen, an element which is fundamental to our existence on this planet! In a single season, 1 mature leafy tree can produce enough oxygen to allow 10 of us to breathe. This is most important of all in densely populated and polluted areas like cities.

2. Sequester and store carbon

Trees play an important role in what we call carbon sinks. This is the storing of carbon as part of the carbon cycle and is an important part of helping to mitigate the effects of climate change.

Estimates suggest a single mature tree can absorb anywhere from 10kg -150kg per year of carbon dioxide. It’s thought that globally our forests, plants and soil absorb around 30% of all carbon emissions generated by the burning of fossil fuels and other human activities. 

To give you an idea of just how good they are at storing carbon – it’s estimated that 2,367,000 tonnes of carbon is stored in London’s trees alone, with an estimated value of £147million to the UK's economy.

3. They support the management of air pollution

Under the right conditions, tree and vegetation barriers can reduce the pollutants we're exposed to by up to half.

4. Support urban flood risk management

A mature tree can drink up to 900 litres of water every day, as well as capture rainwater on the surface of its leaves. Their roots also reduce soil erosion in the ground and slow the filtration of water into our cities' drainage networks.

This is particularly important in cities where a large proportion of the ground surface is made up of impermeable materials, like tarmac and concrete. When we get a sudden downpour, this can quickly cause flash flooding if the water has nowhere to go. Trees to the rescue!

5. They’re keeping things cool

As well as absorbing water, trees also release it as water vapour through evapotranspiration from their leaves, which produces a cooling effect. They also provide shade for the ground and buildings, resulting in further cooling and less energy usage. This cooling helps against the urban heat island effect, where towns and cities are hotter than their rural counterparts.

6. A helping hand for wildlife

Important species in their own right, trees also provide a source of food and habitat to a plethora of other species in our urban environments – bats, birds, badgers, insect, other plants, fungi and mosses, to name a few!

7. They’re good for our mental health and wellbeing

It’s not all about the physical environment; trees also help us with our ability to cope mentally with life in an artificial urban environment.

Being around nature, specifically trees, has been shown to reduce the levels of cortisol in our brains. This is otherwise known as the stress hormone, and lowering it can help to reduce the symptoms of anxiety and stress. We are also more likely to leave our homes, go outside and exercise if there are lovely, welcoming trees and green spaces.

8. Our urban trees are getting old

Most of the beautiful, mature trees we see in our cities today are here thanks to forward thinking tree enthusiasts who planted them as long as 100 years ago for us to enjoy today. But these trees are coming to the end of their life cycles and reaching old age.

The problem we face now is that it takes a long time for a tree to reach maturity. So if we don’t increase the levels of tree planting soon, we may have a long wait until we have more iconic trees to replace the ageing tree population. We've been planting since 1993 and have watched our young whips grow into magnificent urban trees, but we must keep planting more, and protecting the ones we do have.

9. Everyone’s heading to the cities

Almost 85% of the UK are now living in urbanised environments and there are no signs of this slowing down. Upwards of 90% of the population is expected to live in urban areas by 2050.

Did you know that between 2006 and 2012 the UK lost 22,000 hectares of green space to urban sprawl? That is roughly equivalent to 30 football pitches. We now need our trees more than ever.

10. Because we love them

Trees have been part of the natural landscape since humans evolved on Earth. We have a deep, innate desire to be around them, even if you aren’t aware of it. Next time you're out on a tree-lined street, imagine it without those trees. Would you prefer to see more grey than green?

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