Tree funding for Essex
£300k has been awarded
Last updated 23rd Sep 2021
Essex has been given a boost to help plant 375,000 trees by 2024.
The Forest Initiative has been chosen to receive a Forestry Commission award of £300,000, which will help to fund the project.
The Local Authority Treescape Fund is grant funding from the Forestry Commission to support tree planting outside of woodland and focusses on settings such as hedgerows, parklands, urban areas, riverbanks, roads and footpaths.
The fund will target areas with trees that have been neglected or suffered damage in the past, including disused and vacant community spaces and those affected by tree diseases.
As the lead local authority, Essex County Council was eligible to apply and then distribute funding to district and borough council partners, Colchester, Harlow and Epping Forest, to deliver the planting and maintenance of 5595 trees, with more planned.
Councillor Peter Schwier, Essex County Council’s Climate Czar said:
“This is a fantastic opportunity to go further in our efforts to offset the carbon emissions that are contributing to ongoing climate change. There are many other benefits to this fund for people and wildlife in Essex, from improvements in air quality to reductions in flooding. The Essex Forest Initiative’s ambitious target of 375,000 trees has now been made ever more possible”.