London Tree and Woodland Awards: Inspiring people and projects
by the Forestry Commission
Yesterday the winners of the 13th London Tree and Woodland awards were announced at Kew Gardens. The awards, which are part of the Urban Tree Festival, are run by the Forestry Commission and the Greater London Authority and showcase some of the amazing and inspirational people and projects that are in London that are protecting, improving and expanding London’s urban forest.
The award winners were presented with their certificates by the Deputy Mayor Shirley Rodrigues and Sir William Worsley, the chairman of the Forestry Commission, at the event attended by over 150 urban forest practitioners, volunteers, supporters and policymakers.
The trees around us are not only beautiful and stunning but are vital for us and nature.
The importance of trees for our health and well-being is clearly recognised. For example over 70% of people in a Covid study saw levels of happiness increase when in nature. Our urban trees especially have positive impacts on cooling London, providing a home for wildlife, improving air quality and helping tackle climate change.
There were 10 categories at the awards ranging from community tree planting to supporting London’s Urban Forest Plan.
This year we also awarded the first ever London young tree champion award sponsored by the Tree Council and M&G. This is for individuals under the age of 18 who are true forces for trees and nature. The winners have all undertaken a great range of activities to inspire others and to protect their environments. Well done to Anna, Ethan, Siddhanth, Amar and Aurora.
The trees and learning award went to Parliament Hill School for their work in creating a feminist orchard. The students planned and planted an orchard within the school grounds as well as planting a small woodland at the front of the school and creating ponds for wildlife.
It was great to see their enthusiasm and dedication to improving the environment and helping to tackle the climate change emergency. Both these awards demonstrated that there is great hope as future generations continue to improve London’s urban forest.
The Community Woodland award, sponsored by the Woodland Trust, was awarded to the Memorial Woodland, London borough of Havering and Thames Chase Conservation Volunteers. A new woodland has been created with a wide range of species which will provided be place to reflect on the pandemic.
The London Tree Officers Association (LTOA) individual commitment award was awarded to Dave Lofthouse.
It is with great sadness that Dave passed away due to illness just before the awards evening. However the LTOA committee was able to present Dave with his award a couple of weeks ago. The award is for an individual employed professionally within London who has shown consistent dedication and commitment over a prolonged period of time. Dave was a very deserving winner of this award. Dave had passion, knowledge and an impressively long commitment to trees. He was heavily involved in the LTOA since its formation and was a strong supporter of community involvement, giving advice and mentoring. There was always a willingness to share information and support others and Dave will be greatly missed.
The trees and water award was awarded to Enfield Chase woodland restoration project. This is an ambitious project that is focused on flooding and water quality in Enfield. The combination of large-scale tree planting, pond scrapes another natural flood management techniques is aim to reduce flooding whilst creating a new woodland along parts of the London loop. Ian from Enfield is undertaking a guided walk as part of the urban tree festival on Saturday. Full details on the urban tree festival website and link to book.
The London Urban Forest award is for an outstanding tree or woodland related project that demonstrates and supports the goals and actions of the London urban forest plan. The plan can be found with this link.
This years’ winner is Lesnes Abbey woods which demonstrates the importance of goal one of the urban forest plan: ensuring improved resilience against pests, diseases and climate change. Lesnes Abbey woods have carried out activities within the existing ancient Woodland to build that resilience. As part of the urban tree festival Ian will be undertaking a guided walk on Friday. Here is the link to book.
Congratulations not only go to the winners but also those highly commended and everyone who is involved in tree projects across London. The dedication, enthusiasm and pride that goes into looking after the trees and woodlands is something we should all celebrate and be inspired by!
A full list of award winners and those highly commended can be found on the Greater London Authority website.