Cardiff’s urban forest is about to get a lot bigger. Coed Caerdydd is gearing up for another busy planting season, with 30,000 more trees set to go into the ground and, for the first time, new trees planned for every council ward in the city.
Coed Caerdydd began in 2021 as part of Cardiff Council’s One Planet Cardiff response to climate change. Since then, the numbers have been impressive. More than 155,000 trees have been planted across the city, and volunteers have given more than 22,500 hours to planting, growing and caring for them.
Three times her height
Five years in, the results are starting to show. “There are some Alder trees that I remember planting as tiny saplings 5 years ago,” said Coed Caerdydd Project Manager Chloe Jenkins, “and now they’re about three times my height. It’s fantastic to see. We plant trees of all different sizes from saplings to semi-mature street trees, and they all grow at different rates, but particularly in some of the larger areas we planted in parks and green spaces in the early days, you can really see the change.”
Street trees are a big part of the picture. Last season 533 were planted, and the hope is to plant even more this time round. However, it isn’t as straightforward as it sounds.
“It can be a complicated business, planting street trees,” explained Chloe. “You have to take into account things like gas and water pipes, electricity and broadband cables, that can really limit where we can plant. But, trees do a really good job of keeping streets cooler and that can make a real difference during hot weather like we had this summer, so we’re keen to plant as many as we can.”
What’s being planted, and where
This year there will be a greater focus on school sites, private land and community spaces, building on the work already done in many of the city’s parks and green spaces. The trees will be mainly native species, along with some non-invasive ornamental species suited to adapting to climate change. More and more of them are now grown from locally collected seed at the Coed Caerdydd nursery, which was set up early in the project.
Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure and Tourism, Cllr Jennifer Burke, said: “The new trees that have been planted in Cardiff over the last five years will benefit generations to come, making streets cooler, providing important habitats for wildlife, soaking up carbon emissions, and helping clean the air.
“Planting so many trees has only been possible because of the incredible support of volunteers and we’d love to see as many people as possible getting involved again this season so we can plant even more. Whether you can spare an hour at a community planting session, help care for young trees in your neighbourhood, or support the work that goes on at our tree nursery, it makes a huge difference.”
How to get involved
Community planting events start shortly, with sessions across the city for people of all ages and experience levels. Free tree giveaways for Cardiff residents are also returning this season, so you could have one growing in your own garden.
Find a volunteering session near you on the Coed Caerdydd Eventbrite page.
Main image: Volunteers planting a tree as part of the Coed Caerdydd project. Image credit: Cardiff Council
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Where it all started
We’ve been following Cardiff’s urban forest as it grows. Read about last season’s 36,000 trees.
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