Trees, our most powerful tool for the future

The London Borough of Sutton actively expands its green canopy through a long-term sustainability goal to plant 2,000 new trees every year across community, council, and developer-led schemes. 

This not just for a pleasant suburban aesthetic.

Planting trees provides major benefits: cleaning the air by absorbing pollutants, fighting climate change by storing carbon, supporting local wildlife and biodiversity, reducing flood risks through better water management, and improving human mental health via green spaces. Woodland Trust 

Trees are crucial for our mental health. According to King’s College London ‘urban trees provide daily contact with nature, boosting happiness and resilience’.

And at Cuddington Recreation Ground The flood alleviation scheme will have trees and meadow planting around a newly created wetland. This scheme in the flood risk zone will reduced the flow rate, taking pressure off the drains further down in the town. The planting here will also add colour and vibrancy whilst also providing shelter for wetland wildlife and invertebrates.

And of course, there is the aesthetic. The London borough of Sutton is well known and admired for it’s green spaces and leafy suburbs. Sutton ranks as one of London's greenest boroughs, with over 1,500 acres of open space and 89 parks protecting more than 190,000 trees. This vast canopy covers over 25% of the borough, creating a unique urban ecosystem that defines its suburban character.

I think we can say that trees are an important asset that links everything important to our existence together.

So it is important we build on this inheritance as the Canadian pioneer Nelson Henderson said ‘the true meaning of life is to plant trees, in whose shade you do not expect to sit’. 

So I can proudly say the council has planted over 16,000 trees in the last 5 years. And if we can continue to find the funding we will commit to planting 2,000 more, every year for the next 4 years. 

- Cllr Andrew Jenner