County council supports planting of over 210,000 trees in Lincolnshire by extending Woodland Trust partnership

The renewal will support the planting of 217,900 more trees, a figure up from the 207,000 that went in the ground during the last team-up which ran from 2024-26.

This huge amount would cover the equivalent of more than 60 football fields. Twelve extra miles of hedgerow  will be planted too, in total that will mean tree cover for the equivalent of around 2,000 double-decker buses end-to-end.  

The news is particularly important given that canopy cover provided by trees and hedgerows in the county is currently only four per cent, according to Lincolnshire County Council. 

As part of the plan to increase the green, there will be: 

· More tree pack giveaways for residents: 125 packs annually (up from 100), meaning 12,500 trees distributed across the two years. 

· Further free hedgerow pack handouts: 100 each in 2026 and 2027, providing 55,000 trees overall.

· Greater woodland creation: 12.5ha annually, up from 10ha, with the Trust subsidising 90 per cent of whip and protection costs, providing 20,000 trees per year. 

· Trees for new orchards: 200 standard trees per year (trees in pots), expected to be taken up primarily by town and parish councils and community groups. 

Head of Environment at Lincolnshire County Council, Chris Miller said: “The work continues to raise the rate of tree and hedgerow coverage in the county. We will be working closely with the Woodland Trust to deliver planting in the right locations as well as complementing the emerging Local Nature Recovery Strategy.  

“As with all tree and hedgerow planting, this is about the future and the benefits that these actions bring for wildlife and the environment. With this partnership extension we can be assured that the good work carried out so far is going to continue and be expanded to even more sites.” 

Taking part at a tree planting ceremony in Horncastle to mark the renewal of the collaboration, Woodhall Spa and Wragby division County Councillor Natalie Oliver welcomed the extension of the partnership, saying: “Our county is world famous for its green spaces and incredible countryside and we’re doing what we can to continue that. This will see thousands more trees and hedgerow plants going into the ground and that will carry on making a real difference to the people and wildlife in Lincolnshire.”    

Ben Green from the Woodland Trust said: “It has been fantastic to engage with residents and community members, alongside the county council, to deliver a much-needed greening of the county — home to the Woodland Trust’s HQ in Grantham.  

“We are creating woodlands that will stand the test of time, where future generations in centuries’ time may well sit in the shade of the trees within them — a truly uplifting thought."