Deadline: 31-Jul-2025
The Tree Council is helping National Highways plant 3 million trees by 2030 by gifting up to 600,000 to communities across England annually.
The initiative demonstrates how low carbon initiatives can benefit both nature and communities. The trees are being grown at Greenwood Plants, West Sussex, and are from British-sourced seed, are 100% peat free and Plant Healthy certified.
Benefits
- A selection of tree species, with orders of between 2,500 – 50,000 whips per application.
Eligibility Criteria
- To be considered as a recipient of free trees, an application must first meet all of the following core eligibility criteria:
- Each project must:
- Be in England
- Be ‘not for profit’
- Demonstrate an aftercare plan for the trees
- Plant in publicly accessible, publicly visible, or community-used spaces to ensure broad benefit
- Each applicant must:
- Hold public liability insurance for planting
- Have written permission to plant on the site(s)
- They welcome applications from:
- Local authorities
- Charities & other NGOs
- Community groups
- Education institutions
- Individual landowners
- Farmers
- Private sector organisations incl. care homes
- Each project must:
Selection Criteria
- Clear community benefit and involvement, such as volunteering, education, or wellbeing initiatives
- Improvements in biodiversity at the planting site
- Clear understanding of site suitability for tree planting, based on site-specific considerations
- Thoughtful tree selection following “right tree, right place” principles, supported by a detailed planting plan
- Contribution to climate resilience (e.g. riparian planting, sustainable drainage in urban areas)
- Close proximity to the National Highways network
- Comprehensive establishment and aftercare plan, including a commitment to maintain the trees and site for a minimum of three years
- Willingness to provide content for external communications purposes
- Commitment to participate in monitoring and evaluation activities post planting
Application Requirements
- Maps and planting plans (more info below)
- Completed Tree Order Sheet with tree species listed (more info below)
- An overview of your planting project and what you hope to achieve
- Photos of your site(s), showing the current condition (max 5 per site)
- Details from your pre-site assessment and an outline of your planting methods
- Your plans for post-planting care, including who will be undertaking the work
- Evidence of permission to plant (e.g. lease, letter from landowner). If still pending, please note that they will require evidence of permission before releasing any funds
- Any additional information you’d like to share, such as expert involvement or planned partnerships
For more information, visit The Tree Council.