Project to Plant More Trees in Hawtonville Takes Root

Newly released national data on urban trees shows that tree cover in Hawtonville, Newark is below average, both for the district and nationally. The Woodland Trust are working together with the District Council, local charity Reach Learning Disability and Greenwood Community Forest, to address this, collaborating with the local community to identify locations where new trees can be planted in Winter 2025.

A series of events will be held throughout 2025 to help the local community learn about trees and how to look after them, and to find potential locations for new trees in Hawtonville including in private gardens, public parks and on roadsides.

The project was launched on Tuesday at an event hosted by Reach at their Flower Pod in Hawtonville, attended by representatives from the Woodland Trust and Newark and Sherwood District Councillors Emma Oldham, Paul Taylor and Neil Ross as well as many of the Reach volunteers and participants. Two locally-sourced trees were planted on the day, a wild service tree and a birch tree, which were both chosen for their texturally rich bark and multi-sensory features so that all Flower Pod users can benefit. Attendees were asked to mark on a map of the area where they would like to see trees planted and gathered round a campfire to make wishes for the project’s future.

Councillor Emma Oldham, Portfolio Holder for Climate and the Environment at Newark and Sherwood District Council said: “It’s really important to us that all our residents are able to benefit from nature so we obviously jumped at the opportunity to support this project, increasing tree cover in Hawtonville.

“Tree equity is a vital issue and we’ve planted more than 1400 trees since 2019 as well as giving away over 1400 to schools, community groups and households.

“This is one of our first projects merging data-driven tree planting with local knowledge and passion. Attending the launch event at Reach already showed a great appetite for more trees in the area, and we’re matching this level of enthusiasm across Hawtonville, which currently has fewer trees, to help improve air quality, enhance local pride and support the health and wellbeing of our community.” 

Urban trees are crucial for providing wildlife habitats, mitigating and adapting to the impacts of climate change and improving public health. Forest Research, the government’s scientific advisers on forestry and tree-related research, estimate that the long-term mental health benefits of street trees alone are valued at £1 billion.

The project is being funded by LendLease in partnership with the Woodland Trust and is a pilot scheme testing approaches to increasing tree cover in priority urban locations, combining data from the Tree Equity Score UK with community engagement and local partnerships.

Adam Cormack, Head of Campaigning at the Woodland Trust, said: “The Tree Equity Score tool shows that across the UK thousands of communities like Hawtonville are missing out on the benefits of urban trees due to historically low levels of tree cover. Over the next year we will be working with the community and local partners to find locations for planting new trees in Hawtonville and help people care for and celebrate the trees that are already there. We are looking forward to starting work soon.”

The Council's own free tree giveaway is now running for its sixth year. Until 20 December, residents can apply for a free wayfaring or beech tree whip which are given away with tree care advice. Residents can participate in the Free Tree Scheme now by signing up online.