Please see below for answers to many questions about trees and The Tree Council.
Can The Tree Council assist in a campaign to save trees in my local area?
How do I go about protecting a tree in my local area?
Do The Tree Council have grants available for planting trees and hedges?
Can I donate trees in my garden to The Tree Council?
Can The Tree Council provide help for local tree planting?
Who can I contact to give tree health advice?
Who can I contact to carry out work on a tree?
Who can I contact about tree diseases?
Can someone from the Tree Council give a talk to our local community/school?
What do I do if interested in becoming a volunteer Tree Warden?
What type of trees should I be planting?
What tree species are good for my area?
Can The Tree Council assist in a campaign to save trees in my local area?
The Tree Council is a very small charity and unfortunately we do not have the resources to get involved in local disputes but can give this advice: speak to the Tree or Arboricultural Officer in your local authority, as they deal with all the tree matters in the area; seek maximum support for your views from local residents' associations or natural history societies, and local councillors; and gain publicity for your concerns through local press and radio.
For help with campaigning for trees under threat you can contact two of our member organisations: the Tree Advice Trust and The Woodland Trust.
How do I go about protecting a tree in my local area?
Your local authority can issue a Tree Preservation Order for specific trees. If a tree is protected by a TPO, the local authority’s consent is required before it may be felled or pruned. Trees located in Conservation Areas also have a degree of protection. To check whether a tree is protected, or to protect a tree, you should contact your local authority.
For more information about TPO’s go to Communities & Local Government.
For a user friendly guide to TPO’s see the guide by The Tree Council member, Trees for Cities.
Do The Tree Council have grants available for planting trees and hedges?
The Tree Council run the Tree Futures grants programme which provides Schools and Community groups with money for tree planting projects. For more information please see our grants page. We also have various grant schemes for planting hedges, oak saplings, regenerating bluebell woods, and planting wildflower meadows. These grant schemes are only available to Tree Council member organisations, to become a member, please read more about membership.
Information on tree planting grants from other organisations can be found here.
I have some trees in pots / a mature tree in my garden. Can I donate it to The Tree Council?
The Tree Council doesn't own any land and any tree planting which we are involved with is carried out through our Tree Wardens and member organisations. If you have trees which need a home you can contact a number of organisations in your local area: your district council, community groups, farms, schools, nurseries, garden centres, wildlife trusts, conservation organisations in the area (eg Groundwork, BTCV). You can also contact anyone who is holding an event in your area during National Tree Week who might like more trees to plant. See our events page for details.
I would like to do some tree planting in my local area. What help can The Tree Council provide?
The Tree Council run the Tree Futures grants programme which provides schools and community groups with money for tree planting projects. We sell a number of publications covering tree planting and event organising. On hand help and advice can be obtained from our volunteer Tree Wardens, see our networks page for contact details. We have posters to download to help promote your event and we can publicise your event on our website to encourage participation.
Who can I contact to give advice on the health / carry out work on a tree?
Several of our member organisations can put you in touch with a local professional tree surgeon or consultant, such as the Arboricultural Association, the Consulting Arborist Society. A full list of Tree Council members can be found here.
My tree has a disease, can you help in identifying the problem?
One of our member organisations may be able to help with this - you can submit your enquiry to the Tree Advice Trust.
Can someone from the Tree Council give a talk to our local community / school?
There are only four members of staff at The Tree Council but our 8,000 volunteer Tree Wardens throughout the country are on hand to help and advise with all tree related issues. You can find contact details of your local coordinator on our Tree Warden Networks map, they can put you in contact with your nearest Tree Warden who may be willing to give talks or offer advice.
I am interested in becoming a volunteer Tree Warden. What do I do next?
See our Tree Warden section which is packed full of all the information you need on what being a Tree Warden entails. Our Tree Warden Networks map has contact details of all local coordinators who can get you started. If there are no local networks, contact the Tree Officer in your local authority to discuss the possibility of starting one, we can help with setting up new networks.
What type of trees should I be planting / what species are good for my area?
The best species of tree to plant is dependent on many different factors, including growing conditions, position of the site, reasons for planting etc. The best thing to do is to look around your area to see what species of tree are common and thriving. Then you can seek advice from your local nursery or garden centre. The Tree Council book ‘Trees In Your Ground’, offers some useful tips on choosing a tree for your space, and can be bought online. If you want advice about the best species to plant near railway lines (and those not to plant) please click here for useful information from member organisation Network Rail.
