Redshaw Advisors has supported the planting of 12,700 climate resilient trees across the UK in 2023-24

Redshaw Advisors is working in partnership with GreenTheUK and the Royal Forestry Society (RFS) to plant new climate resilient trees across UK woodlands. This project focuses on excellence in woodland management, working with foresters and aborists to ensure we are planting for the future with knowledge being shared from one generation to another.

Planting for the future means nurturing skills that will protect woodlands from pests, diseases and improve resilience to climate change. 41% of England’s woodlands are unmanaged or under-managed, which poses threats to the health and sustainability of woodlands. Redshaw Advisors is helping to support tree planting rooted in knowledge of UK woodlands, looked after by experts.

The Committee on Climate Change recommends woodland cover is increased to a minimum of 17% by 2050, requiring 30,000 to 50,000 hectares a year of woodland creation. This will store carbon, increase biodiversity, flood control and create a low-carbon route to increassing the resilience of the rural economy.

This planting season, 2023-24, the UK has seen 11 named storms, according to the met office highlighting the need to act each planting season to protect and restore UK woodlands.

This year, Redshaw Advisors has planted 12,700 climate resilient trees in the UK to help take climate action. Next planting season, Redshaw Advisors will be planting 11,300 trees in the National Forest.

Tree Species Planted:

5,600 trees planted in North Yorkshire

In this valley woodland, non-native conifers are being replaced with native trees, specifically chosen for their wildlife value. The new woodland will create a ‘wildlife corridor’ along the edge of a beck, providing food and shelter for birds, mammals and insects. By increasing the number of different trees in this woodland, it will create space for different plants (including local woodland wildflowers) and animals, which will increase biodiversity in the valley.

510 Trees Planted

Alder: Alnus Glutinosa

Alder can be found across Europe and thrives in moist ground and damp cool areas, which is why you’ll often see alder trees planted near rivers and ponds. Moth caterpillars love alder leaves and the tree’s roots make an ideal nesting site for otters. For humans, the real value of alder wood is that it’s durable when wet, so is useful for making boats and sluice gates. The story goes that outlaws like Robin Hood would have used the green dye from alder flowers to camouflage their clothing!

1,810 Trees Planted

Downy Birch: Betula Pubescens

The downy birch, or white birch, is a deciduous, broad- leafed tree which grows abundantly across the north of Europe and northern Asia. The outer bark can be stripped off without killing the tree, and its twigs and branches are flexible and make good brooms. The Sami people in Scandinavia use downy birch bark when making their traditional bread, while the tree’s sap can be collected in early spring and used to make a syrup or beer.

230 Trees Planted

Hazel: Corylus Avellana

The common hazel is native to Europe and western Asia and forms an important part of England’s hedgerows. We have all heard of hazelnuts, which are rich in unsaturated fats and protein, and an extremely popular ingredient in many of the world’s cuisines. Did you know that hazel trees were once seen as both magical and a symbol of fertility?

170 Trees Planted

Hawthorn: Crataegus Monogyna

Hawthorn is very much associated with the month of May, and the appearance of its bright, white flowers heralds the change from spring to summer. It is prolific in hedgerows, scrub and woodland throughout the UK and Ireland, and a single tree can grow as tall as 10m. In pagan times, hawthorn was a symbol of marriage and fertility, but in the Middle Ages, it was never brought into homes, as people believed it was a harbinger of illness and death.

550 Trees Planted

Scots Pine: Pinus Sylvestris

The UK’s only truly native pine is Scotland’s national tree and can be found in abundance in the Highlands. The Caledonian Pine Forest is home to all sorts of wonderful species including the pine marten, red squirrel and rare Scottish wildcat. Scots pine has strong timber which is used for making fences, telegraph poles and other construction materials, and the bark can be tapped for resin to make turpentine.

550 Trees Planted

Aspen: Populus Tremula

This striking tree, also known as the “quaking aspen” has shimmering foliage and can grow to 25m tall. The Celts believed that when aspen leaves fluttered in the wind, the tree was communicating with spirits between this world and the next. Since the European Beaver was reintroduced into Scotland after centuries of extinction, aspen has been one of its favourite foods.

170 Trees Planted

Blackthorn: Prunus Spinosa

This small, thorny tree grows to around 5m tall and can be used in hedgerows. Its fruit - the sloe berry - looks a little like a small plum or damson and can be made into jam, jelly or even sloe gin. The blackthorn had a sinister reputation in mythology, where it was associated with witches.

1,280 Trees Planted

Pedunculate Oak: Quercus Robur

Also known as the common or English oak, this is the undisputed king of the woods, supporting more wildlife species than any other native tree in the UK. “Robur” in this oak’s Latin name means “strength” and “hard timber” because this tree produces incredibly durable wood which can be used to make many things, including furniture and flooring. The oak has been considered sacred by many gods in mythology throughout the ages.

10 Trees Planted

Yew: Taxus Baccata

Yew trees are highly poisonous and ingesting almost any part of the plant can kill, but anti-cancer compounds can be harvested from the leaves and used by scientists in the manufacture of medicine. The Romans believed that yew trees grew in hell. Our ancient ancestors made longbows from yew wood; a very early example of one such weapon found in Dumfries and Galloway is believed to date back around 6,000 years.

320 Trees Planted

Wych Elm: Ulmus Glabra

The wych elm is the only indisputably British native elm species, and gets several mentions in E.M. Forster’s novel “Howard’s End”. This tree needs deep, rich soil in order to flourish, so you’ll often find it growing near a river. In 18th century France, there was a brief craze for wych elm powder, which people believed could cure chest and stomach problems and settle the nerves.

7,100 trees planted in North Yorkshire

This is a beautiful estate woodland open to the public in the North York Moors National park. The trees have replaced a conifer plantation monoculture and will be managed for a mix of sustainable timber and firewood with native broadleaf species providing essential wildlife habitats. There are plans to connect this new woodland with other woodland blocks in the National Park. This woodland will (over the next few years) form part of a network of wildlife superhighways and connectivity corridors across the landscape.

800 Trees Planted

Silver Birch: Betula pendula

The silver birch is an elegant, majestic-looking tree which can survive in a range of climates, making it a very popular choice for gardeners. It attracts hundreds of insect species, and woodpeckers like to nest in its rough, tough, silver-white trunk. There is a lot of mythology attached to the silver birch, which is said to symbolise purity, new beginnings and protection. Once upon a time, on Midsummer’s Eve, silver birch boughs were hung across the doors of houses to bring good luck to their residents.

100 Trees Planted

Sweet Chestnut: Sweet Chestnut

The sweet chestnut tree is native to the Mediterranean and was first brought to Britain by the Romans, who used it in their cooking just as we do today. Sweet chestnuts grow in spiny capsules containing two or three nuts, which can then be removed and roasted. Indeed, anyone who has ever been to a Christmas market will recognise that scrumptious smell! The oldest chestnut tree in the world is over 2,000 years old and can be found five miles from Mount Etna in Sicily.

500 Trees Planted

Beech: Fagus Sylvatica

If the oak is the king of British trees, then the beech is its queen. A dense canopy of leaves provides a rich habitat for all sorts of insects, its seeds are popular with mice and squirrels, and hole-nesting birds make their homes in beech trunks. Some of the UK’s tallest native trees are beeches, including one that stands at over 44m tall on the National Trust's Devil's Dyke Estate in West Sussex.

1,700 Trees Planted

Sitka Spruce: Picea Sitchensis

Sitka is by far the largest species of spruce, growing to nearly 100m tall with a trunk up to 5m thick. This majestic tree is named after a city in southern Alaska but makes up around half of commercial plantation here in the UK. Sitka timber has all sorts of uses, including making boats and paper. It is also used in the manufacture of violins, guitars, pianos and harps, as it conducts sound well.

2,200 Trees Planted

Scots Pine: Pinus Sylvestris

1,400 Trees Planted

Pedunculate Oak: Quercus Robur

400 Trees Planted

Small-Leaved Lime: Tilia Cordata

Its heart-shaped leaves may be small, but this tree is large and sturdy, growing to around 20m tall. Lime wood is used to make piano keys, and its bark can be made into rope. During rationing in World War Two, people made an infusion from crushed lime leaves as a substitute for tea, which was tricky to get hold of.