The natural environment

As a member of the White Rose Forest Partnership, we’re working to:

• increase tree coverage across York
• improve access to green space for citizens
• enhance wildlife habitats and biodiversity
• address climate change through 'carbon sequestration' (the process of capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide)

Our aim is to achieve a 10 percent increase in tree canopy cover in the city, which equates to 22 to 27 hectares each year.

By 2050, this would result in an annual carbon sequestration rate equivalent to around 1 percent of the region’s total CO2 emissions between 2020 and 2050.

View the White Rose Forest Action Plan 2021 to 2025, which sets out targets for tree planting and woodland creation across North and West Yorkshire over the next 4 years.

Get involved with improving biodiversity

If every household in the city plants a tree, we’ll hit our 'increased tree canopy' target - find out about planting trees and wildflowers from:

• The Royal Horticultural Society (wildlife information)
• The Royal Horticultural Society (wildflower information)
• The Woodland Trust
• Royal Society for Protection of Birds (RSPB)

If you’d like to plant trees in your garden, visit:

• The Woodland Trust's Tree Planting Advice

Also see

• Conservation and archaeology
• York: Fairtrade City