A £3.9 million cash boost to help the UK Government meet its target of planting 30,000 hectares of new trees per annum by 2025 has been announced.
£2.5m of the fund will support schemes that establish new ways of planting trees in cities, towns and the countryside, with five pilot studies led by Defra, Natural England and the Tree Council, but delivered on the ground by Local Authorities.
The remaining £1.4m has been awarded to the Environment Agency (EA) to fund 15 projects, which will see 850,000 trees planted near rivers and watercourses to help reduce the risk of flooding to more than 500 properties.
Forestry Minister, Lord Goldsmith, said: "We are going to have to break down the barriers to planting trees outside of woodlands if we are to deliver our ambitious tree planting commitments.
"Trees are the backbone of our urban and rural environments, and increasing planting is an effective way both to tackle climate change and stem the appalling collapse of biodiversity."
Emma Howard Boyd, chairwoman of the EA added the fund was one part of a wide range of measures to improve the nation's resilience to the impacts of climate change.
