Trees for Cities

Ever since starting Tithe, I've wanted to find a charity that does rewilding well. According to a UK Gov report in 2024, the UK has some of the lowest biodiversity rates in Europe and the Western World, with over 1million species at threat of extinction. Rewilding is an attempt to reinstate that biodiversity through action.

Rewilding Britain is one of the leading charities in the field and I've considered giving to them in the past. Whilst they may be super effective, the scope almost seems too large to me, with hundreds of projects happening around the country simultaneously.

I did a little bit of digging (pardon the pun) and came across Trees for Cities. Admittedly not as sexy as something like reintroducing Bison to Kent or bringing wolves back to Scotland, their goal is simply to plant more trees in urban areas. Since their inception in 1993, the organisation has planted over 1.8 million trees across parks, streets, woodlands, schools, hospitals, and housing estates in the UK.

A lot of this is done through engaging pupils in school programs & joining in local community organisations. So far, 9,500 local community members and 26,736 pupils have been involved in planting, protecting, and promoting urban trees. 

The benefits of this are manifold; trees provide a habitat for animals and insects that are frequently lost in urban areas. They also make cities cooler & improve air quality, and the Trees for Cities programme gets school pupils involved in environmental practises from a young age.

I personally think that keeping cities green is incredibly important and feel lots of value in helping Trees for Cities make this happen.