Woodland Trust provides funding boost to WMCA

The Woodland Trust has delivered a major boost for communities across the region by providing nearly £300,000 to ramp up tree planting and help the West Midland Combined Authority (WMCA) tackle climate change.

The funding will be used to establish the West Midlands Forest Partnership (WMFP), which will help partners reach their tree planting targets by identifying ways to coordinate different projects and programmes and complete the largest I-Tree eco study in the UK.

Prioritising those areas in the West Midlands with the lowest levels of urban tree canopy cover, the project aims to identify a minimum of eight sites and plant at least 4,000 native trees.

Ultimately, the WMCA aims to increase the region 's forestry cover from 1.5 per cent today to 13 per cent - the equivalent of planting an additional 5.7 million trees by 2026 - supporting its #WM2041 ambition to be a net zero region within the next two decades.

Ian Courts, WMCA portfolio lead for the environment, energy and HS2 and leader of Solihull Council, said: “I am a passionate supporter of tree planting both as a critical part of our work to improve our natural environment, but also to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

“The WMCA has supported a number of initiatives, including its Virtual Forest platform, that encourages tree planting across the region.

“Working with the Woodland Trust provides an exciting opportunity for us to expand our work through the establishment of a WMFP and more engagement with private landowners. ”

Dr Darren Moorcroft, the Woodland Trust 's chief executive said the funding would help local authorities overcome barriers which prevent them from taking action to help address the twin threats of climate change and biodiversity loss.

He said: “With the droughts this year, it has shown us it has never been more important to look at how we adapt to the changing climate in this country.

“A key part of this will be planting more trees and protecting what we have for the many benefits they bring - they help purify our air, cool our towns and cities, make land more resilient to combating flooding and enhancing well-being.

“Whilst we can plant and protect trees on our land, we cannot tackle this alone and it needs to be done in a strategic way across large areas.

Pictured: Andy Street, mayor of the West Midlands, hands over a free Woodlands Trust sapling as part of the WMCA 's Right Tree, Right Place campaign earlier this year