Kingston University’s Environmental society will aid Kingston Council’s bid of planting 600 trees across the borough in response to the Green Plan pledge.
The newly established society’s presidents will try to get the group involved in the new council’s mission of planting 2,000 additional trees by 2022 and 600 this winter.
Lucie Dyer, who founded the Environmental Society, said: “Planting a large number of trees is an amazing way of rescuing carbon emissions as well as being the easiest and most effective way for a community to reduce climate change.”
The 24-year-old biomedical science student said that the society aims to take on any project that has a positive impact on the environment.
The Environmental Society took part in last month’s Global Climate Strike and President Maddie Fleetwood, 20, said: “If a similar amount of people who turned up for the Global Climate Strike took part, it would have a predominant impact for the better. Joining tree planting events is a way to start saving our planet today for a better tomorrow.”
Kingston council said in their initiative that they would be prioritising areas of poor air qualities, particularly those outside schools.
Woodland Trust, the UK’s largest woodland conservation charity, launched the Big Climate Fightback mission, pledging every Briton to plant a tree each by the end of November.
Sarah Shorley, programme delivery leader and tree charter at Woodland Trust, said: “The act of physically planting a tree, and the connection it brings as you nurture it and watch it grow is a sign of hope.
“It’s a perfect metaphor for how we all have to come together to combat and mitigate the worst effects of the climate crisis.”
The hashtag #EveryTreeCounts was created by Woodland Trust to promote their mass-participation tree planting day event on November 30.
Emma Farr
Balsam Maki
Denise Meriche