Ealing Council has launched a new campaign to celebrate the borough’s brilliant trees and is inviting residents to play their part.
The Brilliant Trees of Ealing campaign will celebrate some of the most magnificent, beautiful and inspiring trees in the borough.
Councillor Deirdre Costigan, Ealing Council’s deputy leader and cabinet member for climate action, said: “Trees are essential to our existence. They provide us with oxygen, clean the air we breathe, stabilise the soil and provide sustenance to our local wildlife. They also create shade, bring amazing displays of colour to our streets and help boost our mental health . In a word, trees are brilliant, and our ambitious programme of planting 50,000 more trees is helping create an ‘urban forest’ for us all to enjoy.
“With this new campaign we want you to help us celebrate the best, the most beautiful and the most brilliant trees in your neighbourhood,.”
Brilliant English Oak
This English Oak in Walpole Park is a magnificent example of one of the country’s most iconic trees. Did you know it supports more life than any other native tree species in the UK, and even its fallen leaves support biodiversity?
To nominate a tree you love, you can use any of our social media channels to send us a photo, telling us your name, where the tree is located and include the hashtag #BrilliantTrees.
If you don’t have a social media account, you can email a photo of your favourite tree to aroundealing@ealing.gov.uk, putting ‘BRILLIANT TREES’ in the subject line. And don’t forget to include your name and the location of the tree.
We will regularly choose one tree to feature on aroundealing.com and on our social media platforms.
Health checks are carried out every three years on all our trees by trained arboriculturists, who will check for any signs of disease or if the trees need attention or pruning. Trees do not need to be pruned every year.
We have a dedicated leaf picking team to help the street cleaning crews working across the borough during the autumn months when leaf fall is at its heaviest.
Our parks are home to some of our most beautiful trees and this year 26 of our parks and open spaces were awarded Green Flags, the highest achievement for the borough since the awards began.
The Green Flag Award scheme recognises and rewards well managed parks and green spaces, setting the benchmark standard for the management of recreational outdoor spaces across the United Kingdom and around the world.
Since 2018 the council has planted more than 42,000 trees and last year launched its ambitious biodiversity action plan, which includes a target to increase tree canopy in Ealing by 25% by 2030.
Before any new tree planting, the council checks that we are putting the right tree in the right place by ensuring it will not detrimentally impact the surrounding area.
In addition to its own street planting programme, Ealing is part of the national street tree sponsorship scheme Trees for Streets, empowering residents to get involved by making a donation and sponsoring a new street tree to go outside their home or in their neighbourhood.