Mayor invests £500,000 into street tree-planting across London as he delivers half-millionth tree of Mayoralty  

Mayor marks National Tree Week by planting the half-millionth tree funded during his Mayoralty – a record since the Mayoralty was set up

• Sadiq is investing at least £500,000 this year enabling London boroughs to plant almost 3,000 street trees this Winter 
• London’s trees now cover an area that would fill Hyde Park more than 239 times– making the capital greener and healthier for everyone, improving air quality and making the city more resilient to the impact of climate change 
• The Mayor was joined by WWF High Profile Supporter Tayshan Hayden-Smith (TV presenter and activist) and WWF Ambassador Kedar Williams-Stirling (actor known from Netflix series ‘Sex Education’) at the planting

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, marked National Tree Week today by announcing a half a million pounds investment into tree-planting across the capital as he planted the 500,000^th tree funded during his Mayoralty.  

London boroughs will be supported to plant almost 3,000 street trees this winter. In addition, the Mayor is giving away another 40,000 trees to Londoners in partnership with The Conservation Volunteers (TCV)’s ‘I Dig Trees’ campaign.  

The new £500,000 funding is all part of the Mayor’s £3.1million Trees for London Fund. In his Environment Strategy, the Mayor has committed to increase tree cover in London by 10 per cent (from 21 per cent to 23.1 per cent) by 2050 to protect and enhance the capital’s environment for future generations. London’s trees now cover an area that would fill Hyde Park more than 239 times.

The Mayor has invested almost £7 million since 2016 into planting a record-breaking 500,000 trees. Trees and woodlands have a critical role to play in helping tackle the climate and ecological emergencies. They help protect London from flooding and overheating, improve air quality, and provide places for wildlife to thrive. More deprived areas tend to have less trees and canopy cover on average, and the Mayor is working to address this, and ensure all Londoners have access to green space and trees.  

Sadiq has:  

• invested more than £30m for green space and tree planting projects across London, providing shade and making the city greener and cooler for people and animals to enjoy as our climate changes   
• supported the planting of almost 20,000 street trees 
• contributed to the development of two new woodlands at Hainault Forest and Enfield Chase in London’s Green Belt. 
• given away over 150,000 free trees to Londoners to make their local communities greener, cooler and more pleasant places. Over 100,000 of these free trees have been given away through the Mayor’s partnership with The Conservation Volunteers “I Dig Trees” campaign. 
• launched his £3.1m tree-planting programme Trees for London in July 2022 in response to the extreme temperatures and flooding experienced that summer to help cool the city and provide welcome shade.  

The Mayor believes access to nature is a matter of social justice and the next generation of young Londoners have a key part to play in improving the environment. His Young Ambassadors Programme supports young people to engage in social action on local issues that they care about in a way that will improve their life chances, and build life-long skills and strong local communities. The programme has so far engaged 2,200 schools, with 460,000 students actively volunteering in their local community.  

Today, the Mayor met some Young Ambassadors and pupils at Garratt Park School in south west London to plant an apple tree - the 500,000^th tree he has funded since taking office. He was also joined by volunteers from The Conservation Volunteers, and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) ambassadors Tayshan Hayden-Smith (TV presenter and social and environmental activist) and Kedar Williams-Stirling (actor, artist and activist known from Netflix series ‘Sex Education’).  

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said; “Every Londoner should have access to trees and green spaces, but many areas of the capital that need the benefits of trees the most, have the fewest. That is why I’m investing £500,000 match funding to enable boroughs to plant thousands more street trees which will make a huge difference to local communities. 

“Young people have a huge part to play in improving London’s environment, and it’s been great to meet some of my Young Ambassadors today at Garratt Park School. They are the environmentalists of the future, and together we can work to make London a greener, healthier, more liveable city for everyone.” 

Sharon Gladstone, Headteacher of Garratt Park School, said: “This programme not only contributes to environmental sustainability, which is one of our school’s key priorities this year, but also fosters a sense of community engagement and education. By involving students in tree planting activities, the school not only enhances the local ecosystem but also provides valuable learning and connection to nature. The act of planting a tree is also a symbolic gesture of growth, resilience, and collaboration: exactly the values reflected in our school logo.” 

Debbie Adams, Acting CEO of The Conservation Volunteers said: “We at The Conservation Volunteers are incredibly proud to have been a part of this achievement of planting 500,000 trees in London. Our partnership with GLA and this commitment to planting more trees across London is very special for climate, wildlife, and communities. By planting more trees, we are not only creating a greener and more beautiful environment for future generations, but also helping to improve air quality, reduce noise pollution, and provide habitats for wildlife. At the very heart of TCV’s mission is to connect people and green spaces, and this partnership will help to achieve our goal.” 

Simon Hogg, Wandsworth Council Leader said: “We were delighted to welcome the Mayor of London to Garratt Park School where he joined pupils in planting more trees that will not only green our borough but also help improve the air we breathe. Wandsworth Council has well laid out plans to deliver thousands more street trees as part of our tree and woodland strategy which has identified 2,500 locations for new trees to be planted in the coming years. The council looks after nearly 60,000 trees in Wandsworth including 15,000 in residential streets and we are committed to working with the Mayor to deliver more urban greening, to improving biodiversity and protecting and enhancing our precious green spaces.”

Kedar Williams-Stirling, WWF Ambassador said: “I'm really excited to be getting involved in this brilliant initiative in my home city. We are very fortunate in London to have a variety of beautiful green spaces and parks - however nature in the UK is in crisis and it is vital that we all play our part to protect and restore it. We need more commitments like this one - not only to help tackle the climate and nature crises but to make nature accessible to more people in their everyday lives.”

ENDS