Join in to care for new street trees in old tree pits

To turbo charge our drive to create greener streets - which will boost health and wellbeing in communities - we have partnered with Greentalk and Lewisham Council to breathe new life into Lewisham’s empty tree pits. 100 empty tree pits will be planted with new trees in areas of the borough with low tree cover and high climate risk by the end of 2023. Street Trees for Living has successfully secured funding for the Grow back Together project through the GLA’s Grow Back Greener fund.

The new trees will, when mature, add up to 1300 square metres of new tree canopy cover, providing essential shade, reducing air temperature and decreasing flood risk.

To make sure the trees get off to a good start and continue to thrive, we are looking for approximately a 100 Lewisham tree guardians living near the selected pits to look after the new trees simply by watering the trees weekly during spring and summer. If you are interested in being a tree guardian, you can sign up here.

“With Grow Back Together, we will create greener, healthier spaces on people’s doorsteps, giving Lewisham’s community the chance to reconnect with the natural world as well as enhancing the urban landscape for future generations. Involving volunteer tree guardians in caring and watering the new trees, we are building an understanding that street trees are good for you and that when communities come together to care for trees, wonderful things can happen.” Xanthe Mosley, Chair of Trustees, STfL.

“This project makes a valuable contribution to the area and has used a novel approach to tree maintenance and community engagement. STfL has shown clear capability in previous projects and the application showed this well.” said the Grow Back Greener funding panel.

“Using innovative strategies to reach local residents, and developing technical solutions to getting more people involved in caring for their local environment, Greentalk are excited and proud to develop this project together with STfL and Lewisham Council” Rob Tustain, Director, Greentalk Ltd.

The pits can be recognised by a stencilled QR code on the pavement. A map of the tree pits along with information on how you can get involved in the project is available on the new Grow Back Together website powered by Greentalk.