Let’s make it so that we can’t see the ‘hood for the trees

In Edinburgh we can be proud that we are already the UK’s greenest city, with more trees than people (there are currently more than 730,000 urban trees, compared to around 519,000 ­residents), more green space and more green flag parks than any other place in Scotland for people to enjoy.

Amy McNeese-Mechan is vice-convener of culture & communities at Edinburgh City Council

At last week’s culture and ­communities committee I was delighted with the unanimous ­support for our next goal to join counterparts all over the world by becoming a Million Tree City.

Now we get to work! Our next step will be to draw up an Action Plan which will include annual objectives to make sure we hit our target. This will also include tree-planting opportunities on both public and private land, via new developments as well as arrangements to replace trees lost to age, disease and damage.

We will establish an Edinburgh Million Tree Forum made up of representatives from relevant council services, the Edinburgh and Lothians Greenspace Trust, the Woodland Trust, the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Trees of Edinburgh, the Scottish Wildlife Trust, the Trust for Conservation Volunteers and the Edinburgh Living Landscape Initiative as we work together on an updated vision for trees in the Capital, finding ways of planting more trees, more quickly.

Residents enjoy the tree-lined green spaces of the Meadows. Picture: Greg Macvean

By joining our counterpart Million Tree Cities such as New York and London, we’ll be able to substantially reduce carbon dioxide in the ­atmosphere to lessen the impact of climate change.

Of course, we know this will require a huge amount of dedicated partnership working but I am confident that this will be achieved.

As well as making Edinburgh the picturesque, leafy, beautiful capital that it is, the benefits trees bring to us all can’t be underestimated – they help clean our air, reduce the risk of flooding, keep us cool in the summer and warmer in winter and give the wildlife in our city a home.

There’s a growing awareness of the environmental services that trees provide, not only to species biodiversity, but to urban city dwellers as well.

Larger trees help prevent floods by absorbing larger amounts of rainwater, a role that is likely to become increasingly important to mitigate the impacts of climate change. 

But younger trees are equally important, because they lock up carbon in their growing trunks and limbs – think of them as the hungry teenagers of the plant world.

Together, they work to clean the air we breathe, and they are vital partners in enabling us to reach our ambitious targets on achieving carbon neutrality. Going forward we’ll be updated annually on the details including the number of trees planted (by species) as well as the number of trees lost (by species) giving us a clear picture of how many trees are ­currently in Edinburgh and how close we are to achieving our target and aspiration of becoming a Million Tree City.

Amy McNeese-Mechan is vice-convener of culture & communities at Edinburgh City Council.