SOUTH YORKSHIRE’S MAYOR LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN TO PLANT 1.4 MILLION TREES

Published 13 March 2024 at 8:21pm

South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard has taken one of his most ambitious manifesto pledges a step further, by formally launching ‘A Tree for Everyone: the Mayor’s Million Trees’.  

The project, to plant 1.4 million trees, will bring together local leaders and communities to increase woodland areas and green spaces within the region.  The Mayor will today join local stakeholders and community groups at Sheffield Manor Lodge Discovery Centre where he will plant the first tree and kick off the project.

Determined to tackle the climate crisis head on, the Mayor’s ambition is to support a cleaner, greener and better off South Yorkshire by working with local communities and stakeholders to plant more trees and create more green spaces. 

The project aims to harness the skills, enthusiasm and pride of South Yorkshire’s residents, and to build a better environment for future generations.

South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard said: “Trees literally provide the foundations of our communities. They make South Yorkshire healthier, wealthier, greener and cleaner. That’s why I’m bringing South Yorkshire together to plant 1.4 million trees - one tree for every person who lives here - through the Mayor’s Million Tree Project.

"The Million Tree Project couldn’t come at a more important time; as we face the growing impact of climate breakdown, and tackle head on the health inequalities that plague all too many families, holding back our economy.

"Trees are both our heritage and our future, so I’m looking forward to working with our communities across Barnsley, Rotherham, Doncaster and Sheffield to achieve the challenge of ‘A Tree for Everyone’”.

Roz Davies CEO of Green Estate CIC said: “We are delighted the Mayor has chosen The Green Estate to launch such a positive and ambitious tree planting programme. Working with nature in this way will grow our resilience and will pave the way for a future where people and nature can thrive together."

‘A Tree for Everyone’ builds on the Mayor’s Free Trees for Communities scheme and the work of South Yorkshire Woodland Partnership. The Mayor recently established an advisory panel to support the development of South Yorkshire’s Local Nature Recovery Strategy.