THE City of Edinburgh Council has launched a target of planting one million trees in the capital by 2030.
Edinburgh already outstrips other cities by having more trees per head of population, with there currently being more than 730,000 urban trees in the city.
The local authority said that raising the number will help Edinburgh lessen the impacts of climate change by providing cooling in heatwaves, surface water management for heavy rainfall, as well as carbon storage and a home for wildlife.
It will work alongside Edinburgh and the Lothians Greenspace Trust and the Woodland Trust to deliver its target, with the latter having contributed a grant of £298,055 from its emergency tree fund to support the delivery.
Culture and communities convener at the City of Edinburgh Council, Donald Wilson, said, “We’re very proud that Edinburgh is already one of the UK’s greenest cities, with more trees than people, more green space and more green flag parks than any other place in Scotland for people to enjoy. But we want to do even better, especially as we strive towards our hugely ambitious target of making the city net zero by 2030.
“It’s impossible to overstate the benefits trees bring to the urban landscape. They help clean our air, reduce the risk of flooding, keep us cool in the summer and warmer in winter and give the wildlife in our city a home, as well as making neighbourhoods look and feel tranquil and appealing. They are essential to the wellbeing of our citizens.
“We estimate that Edinburgh needs around 250,000 more trees to be planted in the next ten years on a both public and private land and I’m excited that our project has now officially launched and look forward to working with partners and citizens as we go forward. As the project continues we’ll be reaching out to residents and advising on ways they can help help and get involved.”
