Bradford Council is leading the way as the first Yorkshire council to join the new National Street Tree Sponsorship Scheme, Trees for Streets. The project aims to plant thousands of additional trees in streets across the district through sponsorship donations from local residents.
Trees for Streets is a project by Trees for Cities, the national urban tree charity, and is funded by the government’s Green Recovery Challenge Fund. Its goal is to support the planting of more than a quarter of a million street trees nationwide over the next ten years, by supplementing council tree planting budgets.
Cllr Sarah Ferriby, Bradford Council’s Portfolio Holder for Healthy People and Places, said: “We are really proud to be the first Yorkshire council to join this national scheme, and hope it is supported by our residents.
“We have many beautiful parks and open spaces in Bradford so would like to extend the benefits of green spaces to our streets by planting more trees on them. Encouraging sponsorship through Trees for Streets means we can add to our existing tree planting budget and plant more trees for everyone to enjoy.”
Bradford Council, which is a member of the White Rose Forest Partnership, is committed to comprehensive tree planting across the district to improve the natural environment and create happier and healthier places for people to live, work in and visit.
Bradford was also recognised as a Tree City of the World by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Arbor Day Foundation in 2020, and the council has run some innovative schemes to promote tree planting across the district in recent years.
One of the projects ran by Bradford Council is the Tree for Every Child initiative. Launched last November, the scheme will see approximately 55,000 trees planted across the district, the equivalent of one tree per primary school child, and a pledge to plant a tree for every household that switched to paying their council tax by direct debit, which resulted in 4,500 new trees.
Trees for Streets offers an online platform to make it easy for anyone to sponsor a tree in their street or neighbourhood, by making a donation, and sending a request to their local council with a few simple details. The council then assesses the chosen location, and if it is suitable, arrangements will be made to plant a tree the following winter: the best time to plant young trees to ensure they grow and thrive.
Simeon Linstead, Project Director of Trees for Streets said: “Trees for Streets enables residents to work with their local councils to make a difference to the world immediately on their doorstep, through a combination of technology and local engagement. It’s great to have Bradford on board, so we can inspire and empower the local community to take a leading role in greening the streets of this city.”
 Street trees help the environment by:
- capturing carbon dioxide and producing oxygen
- improve our health and wellbeing – both physically and mentally
- absorb air pollution
- improve air quality by acting like natural filters
- protect us from flooding
- create shading and cooling – so important in towns and cities
- make the neighbourhoods where we live that bit nicer
Beyond sponsoring a tree, there are lots of other ways for people to get involved. Once each street tree is planted, it will need watering every week throughout the summer for three years to give it the best chance of survival, and any litter or weeds will need removing too, to make sure it thrives.
By donating time and water to care for street trees, residents will be contributing to a legacy for their community. It’s also a great opportunity to chat with neighbours, and enjoy the fresh air these trees provide.
