£3m funding to make the North East greener

Around 159 hectares (ha) of new woodland – approximately 297 football pitches – will be planted to bring people closer to nature, improve their health and wellbeing and help tackle the climate crisis.

The increase in tree cover will capture around 49,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere over 30 years – the equivalent to taking 10,558 cars off the road for one year.

The funding will also be used for community tree planting events this winter.

Cllr Jane Byrne, Newcastle City Council Connected City Cabinet Member, said: “We know how incredibly important trees and woodlands are to our communities and the vital role they can play in tackling the climate emergency and biodiversity loss.

“This funding will bring huge environmental, health and economic benefits to the region by supporting our ongoing commitment to plant tens of thousands of new trees each year by 2050.

“What we need to do now is work with communities and landowners to make sure the trees are planted in the right places so that in years to come they can absorb and store carbon dioxide emissions, help to reduce flood risk in vulnerable areas and provide more green spaces for residents and visitors to enjoy.”

One of 13 Community Forests across England, the North East Community Forest is a 30-year, multi-million pound project that has seen six local authorities join forces with environmental organisations to plant more trees across the region.

The initiative aims to plant up to 500ha of trees by 2025, with a long-term goal to increase canopy cover across Newcastle, Gateshead, North and South Tyneside, Sunderland and the most populated areas of County Durham by 30% by 2050.

Crispin Thorn, Area Director for Yorkshire and the North East at Forestry Commission, said: “Forestry Commission is a keen champion of the North East Community Forest and we are delighted to see what has been achieved in such a short time.

“We look forward to working with partners to support the delivery of future schemes, bringing huge benefits for local communities alongside contributing to national net zero ambition and the work to support nature recovery.”

Across the country around 2,300ha of trees – equivalent to around 3,220 football pitches - will be planted as part of this year’s £44.2m funding allocation from the Nature for Climate Fund.

These projects will expand woodlands near our cities, towns, villages and rivers - giving more people greater access to nature and improving health and wellbeing as well as playing an important role in Government ambitions to treble tree planting rates by the end of this Parliament and reach net zero.

Large, small, well-designed and diverse woodlands created thanks to this funding will be more resilient to climate change, as well as natural hazards such as wildfire and storms – playing an important role in helping us adapt to a warmer world.

They will help to reduce flood risk in vulnerable areas, provide sustainable UK grown timber and provide more places for nature and biodiversity to thrive.

For more information visit the North East Community Forest web pages.