Wrexham has received a major £290k funding boost to help tackle climate change and increase tree and woodland cover across the county.

Coed Cadw, the Woodland Trust in Wales, has delivered the funding from the charity's Emergency Tree Fund, designed to help support local authorities tackle climate change, following £2.1 million of support from Amazon’s Right Now Climate Fund.

It is part of six grants being delivered to local authorities across the country, planting 450,000 trees and creating green spaces in local communities most impacted by pollution and with least access to nature. 

The Woodland Trust’s Emergency Tree Fund is one of the first projects in the UK to receive support through Amazon’s $100 million Right Now Climate Fund.

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With €20 million committed to projects across the UK and Europe, the fund has been set up to conserve, restore and improve forests, wetlands and grasslands, protecting wildlife habitats, biodiversity and quality of life for communities.

In Wales, a total of £294,845 has been awarded to Wrexham Council. The fund will support the Wrexham Forest partnership project which seeks to increase trees and woodland across the county.

Wrexham had already developed a ‘Woodland Pledge’ to help protect trees and woodlands across the county borough - and encourage anyone to join, including those who are part of a local business, community group or organisation.

Cllr David A Bithell, Deputy Leader and Climate Champion, said: “We know that trees and woodlands are an essential part of our towns and countryside. They are important for our health, wellbeing and quality of life - and so we are thrilled to receive this funding which will help us to increase trees and woodlands across the county and contribute to reducing our carbon footprint.”

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Natalie Buttriss, Director at Coed Cadw (the Woodland Trust in Wales) said: “Between 2006-2013, some 7,000 large trees were lost in Wales, and between 2009-2013, 159 out of our 220 towns showed an overall decline in tree cover. But we know that there is the desire to change this – and our Emergency Tree Fund exists to help local authorities like Wrexham Council to turn such ambitions into reality.”

The Leader: Natalie Buttriss Natalie Buttriss (Image: Coed Cadw)

Other beneficiaries of the fund include Scotland’s International Environment Centre (University of Stirling), Mid and East Antrim Borough Council in Northern Ireland, West Midlands Combined Authority and Doncaster Council.

Zak Watts, Director of Europe Sustainability, Amazon said: “The Woodland Trust has a history of science-based and community-focused work that has a meaningful and lasting impact on biodiversity in the UK, which is why we have chosen to support them as one of our first UK Right Now Climate Fund commitments."

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