The Forestry Commission's London Region is currently working on the following projects and intiatives:
The Big Tree Plant
The Big Tree Plant is a campaign to encourage people and communities to plant more trees in England's towns, cities and neighbourhoods. It is a partnership bringing together national tree-planting organisations and local groups working with Defra and the Forestry Commission to plant trees throughout England.
Anybody can get involved by planting and caring for trees to help make neighbourhoods more attractive, healthy places to live.
In London it can be accessed through:
The London Tree and Woodland Grant Scheme
The Forestry Commission and the Mayor of London are are working together to improve the trees and woodlands of London as part of the RE:LEAF initiative
The London Tree and Woodland Grant Scheme is the Forestry Commission's RE:LEAF Community Grant Scheme for London, it provides grants to projects that deliver community benefits to schools, open spaces and woodlands in Greater London.
The scheme is administered by Groundwork London on behalf of the Forestry Commission.
Further information on how to apply
The Mayor's Street Tree Programme
Additionally, the Mayor of London has committed to funding an expansion of the Forestry Commission's London Tree and Woodland Grant Scheme, as part of his goal to make London a greener city. This will provide 10,000 new street trees by March 2012 in 40 areas across London.
Since the scheme started in 2008 9,500 street trees have been planted in twenty seven London boroughs and the Fourth and final round of street tree funding grants has now opened.
The Mayor has pledged these additional 10,000 street trees to make the capital greener and to improve Londoners' quality of life. This year is the last round of planting, building on the award of cash for 9,500 trees planted in twenty seven boroughs in the previous three years. Londoners say that improvements to their local environment help to make their communities better places to live, and these trees are being planted by boroughs, community groups and charities who applied for funds from the Mayor's tree programme.
The last batch of 500 trees will be planted between November 2011 and Spring 2012, with financial grants offered to organisations to plant trees across London.
So far across London the following boroughs have received funds from the Mayor's programme to plant trees in their priority areas:
Brent, Bexley, Barnet, Barking and Dagenham, Bromley, Enfield, Ealing, Harrow, Hillingdon, Hammersmith and Fulham, Hounslow, Haringey, Havering, Islington, Kingston, Lewisham, Lambeth, Merton, Newham, Redbridge, Richmond, Southwark, Sutton, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, Wandsworth , Westminster.
The Mayor, Boris Johnson, said: 'Trees are wonderful additions to our communities helping to make neighbourhoods more pleasant. I am thrilled with the success of this programme in planting these trees in the areas that will benefit most.
Information on how to apply for this grant
The RE:LEAF Volunteer Programme
Through his Team London initiative the Mayor of London wants to make volunteering in our city easier to do.
The RE:LEAF Volunteer Programme will fund large-scale initiatives that use volunteers to make a significant impact on increasing London’s tree cover through planting, promotion and maintenance. Volunteering activities will bring local environmental improvements and encourage community participation.
Further information on the RE:LEAF Volunteer Programme
The London Tree and Woodland Awards
The London Tree and Woodland Awards have been relaunched in 2011 as part of the RE:LEAF Initiative and are held annually for recognising excellence in the field of trees and woodlands in London. There are six award categories in total, five covering a range of projects and participants from public bodies to Friends or Community Groups right down to one for individual commitment and achievement. The sixth award is the Forestry Commission Award for the best project funded by its London Community Grant Scheme, this is awarded by the Forestry Commission and not by nomination.
Further Information on the categories and how to nominate.
A Tree and Woodland Spatial Framework
Working with partners to produce the Tree and Woodland Spatial Framework that can be used as an on-line tool for directing resources, tree planting and improved woodland management in those areas of London where these will bring the greatest benefits to disadvantaged communities
Woodfuel
Working with partners to encourage the concept and delivery of woodfuel from the arisings of urban tree management and improved woodland management in London. Notably, through a European Union bid (Interreg).
Management Guidelines
The production of best practice management guidelines under the Capital Woodlands Project to assist woodland owners in London to improve biodiversity and woodland management generally. The management guidelines currently available cover Bats, Woodland Management, Wood Fuel, the Social Dynamics of London's Woodlands, Woodland Archaeology in London.
If you would copies of these guidelines please follow this link: http://www.22design.co.uk/forestry/
Certification
Encouraging woodland owners in London to certificate the management of their woodlands. Two London boroughs are now certified, Croydon and Bromley as well as The Royal Parks.
Woodland Conference
Under the Capital Woodlands Project the Forestry Commission organised a woodland Conference held on the 1st of December 2008 at City Hall to highlight the importance of London's woodlands and achieve the redirection of resources into their management that is required to maximise their potential and secure their future for all Londoners.
View further information about the Woodland Conference
The afternoon sessions of the conference involved workshops looking at some of the issues surrounding the management of London's Woodlands.
The workshop topics were:
1. Enhancing Biodiversity
2. Woodlands and Healthy Living
3. Climate Adaptation
4. Urban Tree Strategies
Tree Strategies
Comprehensive Tree and Woodland Strategy Guidance is being produced for the London Boroughs aimed at encouraging those local authorities without Tree and Woodland Strategies to produce one. The draft document has been Peer reviewed and is now available for public consultation.
Comprehensive Tree Strategy Guidance (PDF 101kb)
Comprehensive Tree Strategy Action Plan (PDF 39kb)
If you have any comments please send them to Jim Smith the London Tree and Woodland Framework Manager at jim.c.smith@forestry.gsi.gov.uk.
Large Landscape Trees in Development
The Forestry Commission is in discussions with CIRIA (the Construction Industry Research and Information Association) to work with other partners in producing new guidance on integrating large landscape trees into new development as part of their "Building Greener" initiative.
Trees and Design Action Group
The Forestry Commission's London Region is a principal partner in the Trees and Design Action Group, a group of individuals and organisations covering tree interests, developers, architects, designers and built environment professionals. It has produced a ten point action plan to improve the lot of trees in the built environment. It has produced guidelines for maximising the potential for large landscape trees on development sites and on tree valuation.
View the TDAG Homepage and download a PDF copy of the guidelines
Joint Mitigation Protocol.
Facilitated the production of the Joint Mitigation Protocol (JMP). This is an agreed method of subsidence claims management where trees are implicated as being the cause of building movement. It seeks to establish best practice in the processing and investigation of tree root induced building damage, benchmarking time scales for responses and standards of evidence. It has taken three years of negotiation and effort to reach the point of publication, due on the 16th of May 2008. During the course of negotiations the Protocol Group has included and benefited from the input of insurers, local authority tree and risk managers, loss adjusters, engineers and arboricultural consultants. Its principal aims are to speed up the process of claims handling, decision making and mitigation implementation leading to resolution, while at the same time recognising the value of trees in the built environment and providing local authorities with all the investigative evidence required at the beginning of the process. A timely decision may then be made on what course of action is appropriate in respect of the tree. It represents a considerable achievement, as for the first time, building insurers and their agents have agreed that remedial pruning may be considered as an option rather than always asking for tree removal.
It is hoped that adoption of the Joint Mitigation Protocol by individual local authorities and insurers alike as an agreed and mutually beneficial process will foster co-operation and partnership working between the two sectors. Trees that should be retained will be and claims will be processed quickly so resident’s properties are repaired without unnecessary delay.
A register of signatories to the JMP is currently being produced and will be held centrally on the London Tree Officers Association website
Joint Mitigation Protocol (PDF 41kb)
Joint Mitigation Protocol register of signatories and supporters (RTF 12kb)
If you are a local authority, insurer, loss adjuster, arboricultural consultant or a company working within the field of building subsidence and wish to follow the principles laid out in the Protocol please send your completed Register form to The London Tree Officers Association so that your commitment to follow the JMP can be recorded and disseminated to other like-minded organisations.
Tree Evaluation.
The Forestry Commission's London region has been assisting the London Tree Officer's Association in developing the tree valuation system CAVAT (Capital Asset Valuation of Amenity Trees). The system's full method is being used to value trees in respect of insurance claims and is the preferred method for the Joint Mitigation Protocol. CAVAT's quick method of valuation is also being used by London boroughs as an effective management tool in assisting the redirection of resources
Climate Adaptation
Assisting the Mayor of London in the Right Trees for a Changing Climate Project. Managing the Right Trees website www.right-trees.org.uk which provides a database of trees to assist land management professionals in making the right tree species choices so that London is made more resilient in the face of climate change.
