Biodiversity benefits

• trees provide habitat for wildlife. Veteran trees and those with dead wood and cavities are vital for bats, birds and invertebrates
• the borough’s woodlands support a large number of insects. Many of these are rare

Environmental benefits

• trees remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. They store it in wood, helping to mitigate the effects of climate change
• trees help mitigate the risk of flooding as their leaves intercept rain water. They then return it to the atmosphere
• trees cool the urban environment. They also reduce the heat island effect during hot, dry, summer days

Health and social benefits

• trees create a unique and beautiful landscape
• trees create space for relaxation. This helps to provide relief from stress and enhance emotional wellbeing
• trees release scents and colours that can stimulate endorphins

What we've done

• planting over 7,283 trees new trees as part of our 10,000 trees project
• working with local community groups across the borough. They're helping to improve their local environment
• three of our parks and green spaces received a green flag award

How many trees have we planted?

In 2022 we planted a total of 7,283 trees. 71,857 have also been planted by highways. This is part of a master planning project which will also add to our tree totals.

The special tree’s planted

January: our mayor planted the first tree to mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee

March: we planted a tree to mark Her Majesty’s seventieth anniversary

10,000 trees project

We’re committed to planting 10,000 trees by 2023. We'll be creating community orchards, tiny forests and other small-scale tree planting projects to meet our target. This project is part of our ongoing work to protect and enhance Barnsley’s beautiful borough. It'll also reduce the carbon through tree planting.

The Queen’s Green Canopy

We've supported The Queen’s Green Canopy (QGC) through inviting schools and community groups to ‘Plant a tree for the Jubilee’. It marks Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022.

We've engaged with lots of schools, community groups, and partners to plant trees across the borough.

If you’d like to be involved in planting a tree as part of the Queens Green Canopy, email parksservices@barnsley.gov.uk.

The Tree of Trees

We were chosen to receive a special tree from The Queen’s Green Canopy (QGC) 'Tree of Trees'. It stands tall as a message of hope, regeneration and optimism to the nation and the world. It was added as part of the Platinum Jubilee weekend celebrations.

We planted the 10,000th tree

Our parks team set a target to plant 10,000 trees by 2023. This milestone was achieved early. This is thanks to our parks team, community groups, partners and volunteers. They've supported us to plant trees across the borough.

Tree planting season

Tree planting season starts in October and ends in April. For more details about how you can get involved email parksservices@barnsley.gov.uk.