Citizens’ vision for future treescapes

Developing treescapes for future resilience is a communal endeavour. It is only possible to plant and care for trees at scale with public involvement and support.

We need to make sure that citizens can feel empowered to participate in the conversation and co-create action around governmental land management strategy.

In 2024, we commissioned the public participation charity Involve to find out what a cross section of citizens felt about our treescapes and how future forest and woodland should evolve over the next 50 years.

What they did…

Involve brought together 48 members of the public from four place-based locations in the four nations of the UK – The Tweed Valley, Belfast, Manchester and Bannau Brycheiniog. They were selected using a civic lottery and broadly reflected the whole of the UK.

Participants were asked to discuss two questions:

  • What is your vision for the future of trees, woodland and forest in the UK in the next 50 years?
  • How can we make sure having more trees meets the needs of individuals, society and the natural world?

Over a series of meetings, groups created a set of shared priorities for treescapes, grounded in both local and national perspectives.

The report and infographic below show what the four groups felt were the priorities for national and local treescape policy.

National vision for UK treescapes

“The UK should commit now to a future where accessible, diverse and unique treescapes are integrated into the everyday lives of both urban and rural communities.

“By ensuring that the right balance of trees are planted in the right places, we will support not only environmental, commercial and economic sustainability, but also the wellbeing and health of individuals.

“Strong and accountable leadership, inclusive planning, and community engagement will empower local people to shape and maintain local treescapes, ensuring long- term resilience and local benefits.

“And with education for future guardianship, we will foster a deeper connection to nature, supporting treescapes that serve ecological needs for generations to come.”

Our future treescapes infographic

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Our future treescapes summary report

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Our future treescapes - how we did it

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