Aberdeen City Council have completed a programme of planting 1,000 trees, as part of a scheme to replenish and grow the city's woods and other green areas.

A progress report for the Members of the Net Zero, Environment and Transport Committee outlined work by the Environmental Services team through several schemes, including The Community Tree Planting Scheme, Street Tree Planting, The Queen's Green Canopy Champion City and Woodside Wee Forest, as well as recovery work following Storms Arwen, Malik, and Corrie.

In February 2022 City Growth and Resources Committee had agreed to set aside £500k for the Council to deal with the storm damage.

Council Co-Leader Councillor Ian Yuill said: "It is great to see the progress being made to increase Aberdeen's tree population. The storms had a devastating impact on our natural spaces, and it is important that the Council continue its efforts to replace lost trees and plant even more trees across Aberdeen.

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"Every single new and replacement tree planted is a step closer to the Council's objective of planting one million trees in Aberdeen by 2032."

Committee Vice Convener Councillor Miranda Radley said: "It is fantastic to see the number of trees being planted across the city through these schemes. The additional funding has made an enormous difference to the storm recovery work."

A community tree planting scheme delivered by the Environmental Services team in partnership with communities saw over 20,000 trees planted across the city in 2021 and 2022. In addition, a commitment to plant new and replacement street trees has seen more than 800 trees planted in 2021/2022. The Council has set an objective to plant one million more trees between 2022 and 2032.

The Tree and Woodland Strategic Implementation Plan was approved by the former Operational Delivery Committee in June 2022. Work is currently ongoing to deliver Priority 2 of the Plan which aims to identify the best and most suitable sites for woodland creation in the city.

Aberdeen was previously selected as one of the Queen's Green Canopy Champion Cities, a unique tree planting initiative which invites people from across the United Kingdom to 'Plant a Tree for the Jubilee' to create a legacy in honour of The Queen's Platinum Jubilee last year.

The first "Wee Forest" was planted in Aberdeen in March 2022 thanks to the joint efforts of Aberdeen City Council's Environmental Services team, NatureScot, and pupils and staff of Woodside Primary School. Around 600 native trees were planted by "Wee Foresters" in an area the size of a tennis court.