IT'S National Tree Week – the UK’s biggest annual festival of trees –  so The Tree Council is calling on everyone, everywhere to celebrate the value of trees, plant more, and appreciate them all.

Across the UK, the presence of trees in cities, towns and rural landscapes, continues to add value to our lives every day, in many different ways.

The value that trees provide can sometimes be taken for granted: they not only create a habitat for all sorts of wildlife, but provide services to humans too. We get food, fuel and building resources from them; they help prevent flooding, clean our polluted air and water supplies and conserve energy.

Trees are good for business, too. It’s been proven that trees increase property values as well as footfall in shopping or business areas, all of which helps to boost the local economy.

The value and contribution of trees is immeasurable, going back to childhood memories such as climbing a favourite tree, admiring the gorgeous autumn colours they bring, or simply being glad they are around us. Whatever the reason, trees are a valuable asset and deserve to be celebrated.

First initiated in 1975, National Tree Week is the UK's largest tree celebration annually launching the start of the winter tree planting season.

National Tree Week 2017 will run from 25th November to 3rd December and is the annual celebration to raise awareness and appreciation as well as encourage planting. First launched in 1975, it followed the success of Plant a Tree in ’73 and Plant Some More in ’74.

National Tree Week is a great chance for communities to do something positive for their local treescape. Each year, The Tree Council's member organisations, such as voluntary bodies and local authorities, up to 200 schools and community groups, our 8,000 Tree Wardens and many others, support the initiative by setting up fun, worthwhile and accessible events - inspiring upward of a quarter of a million people to get their hands dirty and together plant around a million trees.

Pauline Buchanan Black, Director-General of The Tree Council, says: “Whichever way people choose to mark the occasion, National Tree Week is a great time for individuals, communities and families across the UK to recognise and celebrate the value of trees. For too long, their huge economic and environmental value has been understated, and National Tree Week is the time to turn that around.”

“Everyone with a place to plant a tree can grow their own and watch it develop for the next generation,” she continued. “The value it adds, to the earth, to the pocket and to the heart, will form a legacy that can be widely appreciated by everyone, even those not yet born.”

All events can be found on The Tree Council’s website with their Near You map. To find out about the kind of activities which took place in your area last year, for inspiration, you can look at past events. If you're interested in organising your own event, read further to get some useful tips on how to organise successful tree planting activities and don't forget to list your event on their website, so that other people can come and join you!

National Tree Week culminates with Tree Dressing Day on 3rd December. Tree Dressing Day falls on the last Sunday of National Tree Week. It was created by Common Ground in 1990 to encourage communities to come together and celebrate their trees. Events take place all around the country to ‘dress’ trees. Lots of different types of dressing can take place, such as yarn-bombing, lantern hanging, or simply hanging decorations made by members of the community. Often activities include other elements such as story-telling and bonfires.

TREE FACTS

  • Trees are the oldest living organisms on earth and never die of old age
  • Trees drink about 2,000 litres of water each year
  • Trees are able to communicate and defend themselves against attacking insects. Scientists have found that trees can flood their leaves with chemicals called phenolics when the insects begin their raid. They can also signal danger to other trees so they can start their own defence
  • The "knock on wood" tradition comes from a time when primitive pagans used to tap or knock on trees to summon the protective spirits that resided in them
  • Pine trees grow on six of seven continents, with Antarctica being the only one left out
  • Trees lower air temperature by evaporating water in their leaves.
  • The biggest tree is a giant sequoia in California’s Redwood Forest. It measures some 30 stories tall and 82 feet in circumference
  • California holds the record for the oldest living trees, too. Some of the state’s bristlecone pines and giant sequoias are thought to be 4,000-5,000 years old
  • Trees can be male, female, or both
  • Earth has more than 60,000 known tree species