Plant a tree for London

The Evening Standard has launched a campaign to plant a million trees in London and breathe new life into the capital. In association with the environmental charity, Trees for London, the Standard is inviting readers to sponsor new trees which will improve the appearance of the city, create important habitats for wildlife and help to reduce the air pollution caused by rising traffic levels.

Readers can choose the species of tree they prefer or which area of London they want it in. Organisers hope it will be the largest tree sponsorship scheme ever seen in Britain.

Initially, the campaign will focus on 16 sites where there are few, if any, trees and begin bringing them up to the level of London's greenest areas. In subsequent years, the campaign will embrace every London borough.

It will involve the planting of trees along many busy roads, in schools, parks and other open spaces as well as the creation of new community woodlands.

Organisers hope to reach the target of one million trees by 2010, with 100,000 in the first year.

"We hope people will take advantage of this opportunity to breathe life into their streets," said Graham Simmonds, chief executive of Trees for London.

"It will enable them to benefit their local environment for years, and perhaps centuries, to come.

"This is a project in which everybody in London can participate in some way, either by sponsoring trees - which can cost as little as £15 - or as volunteers to help plant them. We particularly hope that schools will get involved by raising money with their local communities to sponsor a tree or maybe a grove."

In addition to the certificate sent to each sponsor, schools taking part in the campaign will get a wall chart about the importance of trees to the environment.

Evening Standard readers have shown their support for London's natural heritage in the past. After the great storm of 1987, readers raised nearly £60,000 to pay for 5,000 new trees for schools, hundreds of saplings for the 33 London boroughs as well as a new tree nursery near Wormwood Scrubs prison.

This time it is hoped the campaign will produce enough interest from individuals, schools and businesses to plant many hundreds of thousands more.

Extra trees in London will make the capital a healthier place to live and work. Air pollution from road traffic can trigger respiratory problems that are a major cause of ill health.

Trees absorb and filter these harmful pollutants extremely effectively. They also add to air quality by recycling carbon dioxide into oxygen.

Getting involved is simple. Sponsorship of a two-year-old tree costs just £15. A grove of five trees of the same age costs £72, and a 12-year-old tree, complete with its own dedication plaque, will cost £175.

Among those supporting the campaign are impressionist Alistair McGowan, architect Lord Rogers and gardener Diarmuid Gavin of the BBC's Home Front.

Lord Rogers, Trees for London's Founding Patron, said: "I believe passionately that we need another million trees in London, both for their aesthetic benefits and for their ability to counter pollution.

"It's time to value trees for their beauty but also as agents of economic, social and environmental regeneration. A US study found there was a 15 per cent price difference between a house on a street with trees as opposed to one without."

Diarmuid Gavin, one of the charity's patrons, said: "I am delighted at how everyone is really getting behind the million trees campaign, which the charity needs to make London one of the world's greenest, healthiest cities."

To support the campaign by making a donation or sponsoring a tree or grove simply CLICK HERE .