Solihull has been awarded ‘Tree City of the World’ status in recognition of its urban tree planting programme. It is one of just 19 areas in the UK to have the international award.
The awards are given by the Arbor Day Foundation and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations with the intention of creating an international network of towns and cities dedicated to fostering the best urban forestry practices.
Chief Executive of the Arbor Day Foundation, Dan Lambe, said: “Trees are important to people, no matter what country they are from or what language they speak. We all want to live in a city that is healthy, resilient, and beautiful – trees serve as a common language to make that possible. Being recognised in the Tree Cities of the World programme means that your city is committing to go above and beyond to define trees as critical green infrastructure for your citizens.”
Planting trees has huge environmental benefits, helping to combat the effects of climate change and increase wildlife biodiversity. The Tree Cities of the World programme provides a network of like-minded city leaders in urban forestry to celebrate and share best practices to cultivate greenery in the community. It aims to create more green spaces in urban areas by recognising the cities that do it well.
Solihull Council’s Planting Our Future team – which is planting 250,000 trees in ten years to help achieve the council’s net zero ambitions - will celebrate the award next month.
For more information about Tree Cities of the World see - https://treecitiesoftheworld.org/.
For more information about Planting Our Future see - https://www.lovesolihull.org/plantingourfuture