Rose Uniacke has supported the planting of 7,200 climate resilient trees across the UK in 2023-24

Rose Uniacke 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. Rose Uniacke 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, Rose Uniacke has planted 7,200 climate resilient trees in the UK to help take climate action. So far, Rose Uniacke has planted a total of 21,600 trees.

Tree Species Planted:

200 trees planted in Cornwall

This woodland was planted 30 years ago as a mix of ash, beech, cherry and oak trees. Sadly in 2017, the deadly tree disease Ash Dieback was spotted in the woodland. Diseased ash trees (making up around 30% of the woodland) had to be cut down to stop the disease spreading to other areas. 10 additional tree species have been planted in amongst the surviving trees, making this a healthy, more diverse woodland for local wildlife.

5 Trees Planted

Norway Maple: Acer Platinoides

The deciduous Norway maple can be found all over Europe and was introduced to Britain in the 17th century. Caterpillars love its broad, pointy leaves, which are dark green at the start of the year before turning yellow and red in the autumn. This tree grows up to 25m tall, and birds and small mammals eat its seeds, while bees and insects sip from its bright green flowers.

17 Trees Planted

Sycamore: Acer Pseudoplatanus

Sycamores can live for 400 years and are attractive to aphids and their predators. Their seeds are very fertile and float to the ground like little helicopters. Sycamore timber is pale cream in colour and good for carving, which is why it is used for making traditional Welsh lovespoons. Fans of the children’s author Julia Donaldson may know that her popular character Stick Man and his family live in a sycamore tree!

8 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.

50 Trees Planted

Hornbeam: Carpinus Betulus

The hornbeam is extremely tough and keeps its leaves all year round, making it an attractive proposition for birds, insects and other animals. Hornbeam wood is very hard, in fact it is also known as “ironwood” and the Romans recognised its durability, using it to make their chariots. Nowadays, this timber is used for tool handles, coach wheels, parquet flooring and chess pieces!

33 Trees Planted

Sweet Chestnut: Castanea Sativa

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.

5 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?

5 Trees Planted

Spindle: Euonymus Europeaeus

You’ll find this striking, brightly-coloured flowering plant in hedgerows and forests all over Europe. The spindle is also a very popular addition to parks and gardens, because of its pink and orange fruit and foliage which turns red in the autumn. Its wood is hard and dense, making it the ideal choice for the manufacture of spindles and skewers, and the discovery of spindle wood at Bronze Age burial sites means man has been using it for thousands of years.

5 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.

8 Trees Planted

Douglas Fir: Pseudotsuga Menziesii

Douglas fir was first introduced to the UK from North America in the 1800s. These fragrant evergreen members of the pine family can live for up to 1,000 years, but are often cut down for use as Christmas trees. Douglas fir timber has lots of commercial uses, including furniture, flooring and decking, for example.

20 Trees Planted

Sessile Oak: Quercus Petraea

The sessile oak is Ireland’s national tree and can be found across Europe. Sessile means “without a stalk”, and this tree’s acorns are stalkless, growing directly on twigs. Oaks provide a habitat for many creatures, including red squirrels, badgers, jays, caterpillars and around 250 more species of wildlife.

5 Trees Planted

Western Red Cedar: Thuja Plicata

The western red cedar’s strength is celebrated in Native American cultures, and it attracts and shelters many species of birds and insects. Its timber is extremely durable, making it a good source of building materials. If you take a bit of western red cedar foliage and crush it between your fingers, it gives off a sweet smell like pineapple.

37 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.

453 trees planted in County Durham

This woodland was badly affected by Storm Arwen and many trees were destroyed. The trees that were lost in the storm have been replaced with a mix of broadleaf and conifer species. These trees were planted in a pattern designed specifically so that slower growing trees will be sheltered by faster growing trees as they establish themselves. By planting the trees in this way, all the trees in the woodland will support each other. This will help the woodland to become more resilient to the more frequent storms and gales that we are likely to see in the future, due to climate change.

14 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.

5 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.

91 Trees Planted

Norway Spruce: Picea Abies

This fast-growing evergreen conifer can live for as long as 1000 years and grows to a height of up to 40m. It has red- brown cones, which are the largest of any spruce tree. In 1848, Queen Victoria’s husband Prince Albert introduced the custom of decorating a Norway spruce for Christmas, and it has been a popular festive tree choice in the UK ever since.

317 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.

23 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.

5 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.

200 trees planted in Cumbria

Many of the trees in this important ancient woodland were broken, damaged or blown over by Storm Arwen. The new trees in this woodland have been planted to help increase the woodland’s resilience to storm damage and quickly replace the woodland habitat that was lost in the storm. This is a particularly important site for native red squirrels, who live and breed in this woodland. The trees have been specially chosen to ensure a continued supply of pinecones (one of the squirrels’ favourite foods) and suitable habitat for building nests (dreys).

1 Trees Planted

Sycamore: Acer Pseudoplatanus

2 Trees Planted

Sweet Chestnut: Sweet Chestnut

1 Trees Planted

Hazel: Corylus Avellana

2 Trees Planted

Hawthorn: Crataegus Monogyna

1 Trees Planted

Beech: Fagus Sylvatica

1 Trees Planted

Wild Privet: Ligustrum Vulgare

This bushy, deciduous shrub is native to the UK and Europe. It was a regular feature in Elizabethan gardens and is still very popular with gardeners today, as well as being found in hedgerows and on the edge of woodlands. It has white flowers which bloom in June, before small black berries - which are extremely poisonous to humans but popular with birds - appear in the autumn.

45 Trees Planted

Norway Spruce: Picea Abies

2 Trees Planted

Sitka Spruce: Picea Sitchensis

55 Trees Planted

Scots Pine: Pinus Sylvestris

38 Trees Planted

Douglas Fir: Pseudotsuga Menziesii

53 Trees Planted

Sessile Oak: Quercus Petraea

2,000 trees planted in Tyrone

This woodland has been badly affected by the tree disease ash dieback. When choosing restock species, we considered the ecological function that ash trees played within the woodland and seek to mitigate against this loss by choosing a proportion of tree species that fulfil some of these functions. Diseased ash trees have been replaced with oak trees and a mix of native and non-native broadleaves and conifers. This will help to increase the biodiversity of the woodland by providing many different habitats for birds, mammals and insects.

133 Trees Planted

Silver Birch: Betula Pendula

533 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.

400 Trees Planted

Beech: Fagus Sylvatica

267 Trees Planted

Scots Pine: Pinus Sylvestris

667 Trees Planted

Sessile Oak: Quercus Petraea

4,147 trees planted in Aberdeenshire

This woodland was badly damaged in 2019 by Storm Arwen. The storm took out several pockets of trees within the woodland. As part of this project, damaged and fallen trees have been replaced with a mix of evergreen and deciduous trees. Smaller trees, such as aspen, willow and rowan will form an understory that will be particularly beneficial to local wildlife. Above this, faster growing trees such as spruce, larch, fir and cedar will form a canopy and help protect trees from further storms.

487 Trees Planted

European larch: Larix Decidua

This large, deciduous conifer grows quickly and usually lives for around 250 years, although some European larches are said to be almost 1000 years old! Red squirrels and some birds, including the siskin, enjoy eating larch seeds. According to ancient European folklore, larch had the power to protect against enchantment and ward off evil spirits.

245 Trees Planted

Serbian Spruce: Picea Omorika

The Serbian spruce is a medium-sized, slim, evergreen conifer which, as the name suggests, is native to small areas of the Balkans. This is a tree that can really withstand adverse conditions and tolerate pollution, making it a popular choice for planting as an ornamental addition to urban areas. Like its cousin, the Norway spruce, the Serbian spruce is often used as a Christmas tree.

670 Trees Planted

Sitka Spruce: Picea Sitchensis

696 Trees Planted

Macedonian Pine: Pinus Peuce

Macedonian pines are native to the Balkan Peninsula, however have shown promising resistance to diseases that affect other pine trees in the UK. Macedonian pines are also resistant to snow, frost and drought. This makes them resilient to the expected increase in extreme weather events as a result of climate change. They can also withstand exposure and atmospheric pollution.

768 Trees Planted

Scots Pine: Pinus Sylvestris

11 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.

836 Trees Planted

Douglas Fir: Pseudotsuga Menziesii

11 Trees Planted

Grey Willow: Salix Cinerea

The grey willow has oval leaves that sit alongside the grey felt-like twigs and catkins which give it its name. The willow is often associated with sadness, but it wasn’t always so: it was a tree of celebration in the Bible. Aspirin is derived from salicin which is found in all willow species, and our ancestors would chew willow bark to relieve toothache and other pain.

11 Trees Planted

Rowan: Sorbus Aucuparia

Also known as the mountain ash, rowan trees grow well at high altitudes and are commonly found in the Scottish Highlands, as well as on streets and in gardens across the UK. Many birds eat their scarlet berries in the autumn, then disperse the seeds. Rowan used to be planted next to homes to ward off the threat of witches, as red was once believed to guard against evil.

184 Trees Planted

Western Red Cedar: Thuja Plicata

226 Trees Planted

Western Hemlock: Tsuga Heterophylla

This tree has drooping branches and dense foliage, which makes it difficult for other species of plants, or indeed wildlife, to thrive beneath it. The western hemlock has an important place in ancient American traditions, where it was associated with women and female warriors made headdresses from it. Queen Victoria was so fond of hemlock, she wanted it to be renamed in honour of her beloved husband, Prince Albert.

200 trees planted in Norfolk

Oak and fir trees have been selected to plant in amongst other trees (some of which are over 150 years old). This will help to diversify the age structure of this woodland, helping to protect it against extreme weather events and attacks from pests and diseases. The woodland contains several ponds, which are managed for wildlife, particularly their thriving populations of frogs, toads and newts.

70 Trees Planted

Douglas Fir: Pseudotsuga Menziesii

130 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.