Street trees are an important form of climate change adaptation, as they provide shade and cooling during increasingly hot summers. They also add beauty and character to our streets, and clean the air. So we need our street trees, and we need to plant more of them!
Unfortunately, young trees are vulnerable to the same heat we hope they will protect us from. A well established tree is more resilient, but saplings can easily die during a hot and dry spell in the summer. The Woodland Trust and the Arboricultural Association have warned that newly planted urban trees don’t always survive their first three years, and are calling on people to water trees near where they live.
“Planting a tree is just the start of the story,” says John Parker of the Arboricultural Association. “The health and survival of new urban trees is threatened by increasingly dry weather. It is recommended that newly planted trees are given 50 litres of water per week during the summer months, for the first three years. You can help ensure healthy trees for the future over the summer months by watering trees near you.”
Some places have set up watering rotas in the neighbourhood, and some families have made it part of an after-dinner routine with the children. Other tips to consider:
- Watering a tree in the morning or evening is best – more will evaporate if it’s done in the middle of the day.
- Don’t let it stop you if the tap is all you have, but use rainwater from a water butt if you can. ‘Grey water’ is also fine for trees, the Woodland Trust assure us, so you can use washing up water or bathwater.
- Hang a tag on young trees to ask neighbours to join you in watering trees. You can download these ones to print, or order them for free.
- Planting trees? Or aware of some saplings that need some care? Use the ticl.me app to tell people about them.
- More tips at trees.org.uk
Zero Carbon Luton 