One Million Trees

Our aim

Planting trees in Belfast has many benefits. Trees increase the beauty of our city, improve resident health and are one of the best ways to tackle climate change.

We are working with city partners and local communities to plant one million native trees across Belfast by 2035.

The Belfast One Million Trees initiative was inspired by an original idea from the Belfast Metropolitan Residents Group. One Million Trees is one of the main ways to support climate adaption across the city and help make it more resilient to climate change.

One Million Trees makes a substantial contribution to the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs’ Northern Ireland-wide Forest of our Future initiative.

By planting one million trees, we can:

• reduce carbon;
• improve air quality;
• reduce flooding;
• increase urban cooling;
• support and enhance biodiversity; and
• improve physical and mental health and wellbeing.

How many trees have we planted so far?

Working in collaboration with public, private and voluntary sector partners, we have currently planted 110,254 trees in Belfast and our city regions.

Tree planting for climate action video

Carbon dioxide is the greenhouse gas which contributes most to global warming. Trees absorb carbon from the atmosphere as they grow, making tree planting one of the best natural solutions for locking up carbon dioxide emissions as well as restoring biodiversity.

Watch this animation for a short summary on this project and our joint goal. This video is one minute and 29 seconds long.

Working with others

Residents

Tree planting season runs from November to March. During this time, our Parks Outreach Teams host volunteering events in our parks and other green spaces for residents to get involved with planting native trees in local spaces.

Businesses

We have been working with Business in the Community NI and individual businesses on staff team days so organisations can get involved in One Million Trees. We have also been liaising with the Voluntary, Community and Small Enterprise Panel within the Belfast Community Planning Partnership and the Community Climate Action Working Group (part of the Belfast Climate Commission).

Schools

We have been working with the Education Authority, the Woodland Trust and Keep NI Beautiful ECO-Schools Project to engage with schools in Belfast, allowing young people to grow a love of trees and understand how important they are for climate action. 

Community groups

In the areas where we’re planning to plant, we've also been engaging with community groups.

Main partners

One Million Trees is made possible thanks to the ongoing support of the project’s key partners including the Woodland Trust, the Conservation Volunteers, Belfast Hills Partnership, National Trust, Northern Ireland Housing Executive, Department for Infrastructure, Department for Communities, Northern Ireland Electricity, Queen’s University, Belfast Harbour Commission, the Education Authority, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, DAERA, Translink, the BMRG, PSNI and Invest NI.

More information

If your business, school or community group would like to get involved or you'd like more information about this project, email resilient@belfastcity.gov.uk.

For information and advice on trees or planting trees, go to www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/plant-trees/advice (link opens in new window)