Brighton & Hove tree lovers – we need you!

This winter, a lot of tree planting events were stalled due to Coronavirus and a new Tree Strategy, but the aim is to try and catch up this winter with more trees and some socially distant planting sessions. The PYP team have launched a new Fundraiser which aims to raise £2000 to help the City’s community groups plant more trees to increase habitat for nature and to improve health and well-being.

A tree can support hundreds of species of insect and other wildlife; for example, a mature oak tree will support 280 different species of insect.

Due to disease, budget cuts and climate change, Brighton and Hove’s urban trees have been in decline for many years. 2020 is proving to be a particularly bad year for the city’s Elm trees. See this article in The Argus.

‘We cannot take our trees for granted,’ says PYP’s Penny Hudd. ‘Our urban forest is slowly diminishing and our aim is to halt and reverse this decline because the city is now in real danger of losing its leafy legacy.’

Recent CPRE figures show that more than two-thirds of people in the South East (68%) believe that protecting and enhancing green spaces should be made a higher priority after the lockdown.

‘There has been a real surge of love for nature during lockdown,’ says PYP’s Kia Traynor. ‘In Brighton and Hove our street trees are a central part of this – they mitigate climate change, they provide cooling on hot days with shading and they provide a home for wildlife. They are also really good for mental health and well-being.’

The new Crowdfunder can be found here.

‘Any contribution you can make, big or small, will make a difference,’ says Penny.

Please share this information with your networks and friends! Thank you.