This National Tree Week 2025, Barking and Dagenham Council takes a look back at the achievements of its borough-wide tree planting programme, funded through securing external grants and donations. 

Since 2017, the council - alongside staff, volunteers and key partners - has made significant strides to enhance the borough’s green spaces. Thanks to collaboration with organisations including Thames Chase Community Forest, The Conservation Volunteers (TCV), and SUGi, Barking and Dagenham has seen transformative investment in tree planting, urban greening, and long-term environmental resilience.

Through the Thames Chase Trees for Climate programme, the borough has received essential funding for tree planting and maintenance. TCV’s Corporate Partnership Scheme has donated thousands of trees, while the innovative Miyawaki Forest projects have been delivered through a strong partnership with SUGi - bringing dense, fast-growing micro-forests to local neighbourhoods.

Since 2017, almost £800,000 has been invested into the borough, with 150,000 trees planted, and an estimated 33,780 tonnes of carbon projected to be captured over the lifetime of the trees. In addition, more than 21 green spaces have been improved, revitalising parks and community spaces, and over 93,000 Barking and Dagenham residents are also now living within 250m of new planting sites. 

With more tree planting projects already being planned over the coming years, the borough is set to further expand its green canopy and improve the local environment for residents and wildlife. 

Trees not only support local biodiversity, offering habitats for birds, insects, and other wildlife in a densely populated borough with precious greenspace, but also provide essential environmental, social, and health benefits. This includes improved air quality by filtering pollutants from busy roads, reduce the urban heat-island effect during increasingly hot summers, as well as contributing to managing rainwater by reducing surface flooding.

Councillor Saima Ashraf, Deputy Leader of Barking and Dagenham Council, said: “This National Tree Week, we are proud to celebrate a milestone moment for our borough. Trees bring so many benefits to our borough including improved biodiversity and enhanced wellbeing. The scale of our collaborative work over the past eight years reflects our ambition to make nature accessible to every resident. Our communities, partners, and volunteers have played a crucial role, and it’s fantastic that together we are making real, lasting change.”

Councillor Kashif Haroon, Cabinet Member for Public Realm and Climate Change, added: “Planting more than 150,000 trees is a testament to our commitment to creating a cleaner, greener, and more sustainable Barking and Dagenham for generations to come. With more exciting projects in the pipeline, we look forward to expanding our green spaces even further.” 

Residents can register their interest to volunteer at upcoming tree-planting projects at on the council’s website www.lbbd.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/get-involved/become-volunteer