The Big Tree Plant

Barcham Trees has wide experience in supplying trees into the public and private sectors, primarily for the use in streets and open spaces, and applauds the government’s latest initiative in campaigning to plant a million trees in the urban environment over the next 4 years and indeed for providing the finance to carry their ambitions through.

The Big Tree Plant was introduced on 2nd December 2010 and is the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA’s) Campaign to increase the number of trees planted in Towns, Cities and neighbourhoods throughout England, particularly in deprived areas.

The Big Tree Plant is a national partnership that will be providing total grant funding of £4.2 million over the next 4 years to support Community tree planting throughout England with an aim to plant 1 million urban trees between 2011 and 2015. This project will bring together partners that have been campaigning and supporting tree planting for many years such as The Tree Council, Woodland Trust, Trees for Cities and England’s Community Forests.

Planting trees in urban areas improves the local environment for residents and communities, but also has a broader impact on the Big Society of England in terms of reducing carbon footprints and promoting well being.

There is evidence to suggest that trees in urban areas increases the value of property and indeed the perceived value of the area as a desirable place to live, as well as fighting air pollution, bringing health benefits and reducing the effects of climate change. In the USA, studies have even established that trees are "the natural deterrent to criminals in inner-city areas".

At Barcham, we believe in planting trees for the future and are excited to encourage widespread participation in The Big Tree Plant Campaign. It is fantastic that this campaign is not only raising awareness of the value of trees in urban areas, but is also following through by encouraging and funding communities to work together to actually plant and care for the trees in their neighbourhood for many years to come.  To encourage groups to apply, Barcham has produced an information pack for The Big Tree Plant detailing how we can help to support applicants.

So, get planting! If you are interested in getting involved, there is plenty of information and an application form available on The Big Tree Plant website.