Ealing Council hits 50K trees milestone in 2026

Key Points

• Ealing Council passes 50,000 trees planted across the borough since 2022.
• This milestone forms part of a wider 2022–2026 climate and biodiversity plan to reach 50,000 new trees by 2026.
• Trees have been planted in streets, parks, schools and new woodland sites such as Horsenden Hill and Marnham Field.
• The planting drive is linked to Ealing’s climate action and biodiversity strategy, aiming for 25 per cent tree‑canopy cover by 2030.
• Residents and volunteers have participated via schemes such as Trees for Streets and local planting events.
• Ealing Council reaches 50,000‑tree milestone under 2026 climate plan

Ealing (Extra London News) March 24, 2026 – Ealing Council has marked a significant environmental milestone, announcing that 50,000 trees have been planted across the borough since 2022 as part of its four‑year climate and biodiversity programme running up to 2026. The council said the figure includes street trees, park plantings, school‑site trees and new woodland areas, which together are helping to cool urban streets, improve air quality and create new habitats for wildlife.

Local officials and environmental campaigners have described the 50,000‑tree target as a core element of Ealing’s wider “Progress with Unity” strategy, which aims to strengthen green infrastructure and increase tree‑canopy cover to 25 per cent of the borough by 2030.

The council’s latest progress report explicitly states: “The council has planted 50,000 trees across the borough since 2022, creating vital habitats, tree canopies for shade and helping to absorb harmful carbon.”

Why is Ealing planting 50,000 trees?

Ealing Council’s 50,000‑tree drive forms part of its broader climate emergency and biodiversity strategy, which was formally adopted in 2022 and is scheduled to run through 2026. In a 2022 article on Around Ealing, Councillor Deirdre Costigan, the council’s deputy leader and cabinet member for climate action, explained that trees “clean our air, provide shade, reduce flood risk and nurture wildlife”, which is why the administration committed to planting 50,000 new trees by 2026.

The council’s own 2022–2026 progress report notes that the programme is intended to “create vital habitats, tree canopies for shade and helping to absorb harmful carbon” as part of its wider environmental commitments. In a separate Around Ealing piece on urban woodlands, the council said planting more than 13,500 trees at Horsenden Hill and Marnham Field is part of the “ambitious programme of planting 50,000 more trees by 2026” and contributes to a goal of 25 per cent tree‑canopy cover across Ealing.

How does the 2022–2026 strategy frame tree planting?

Under the council’s four‑year “Progress with Unity 2022–2026” plan, tree planting is positioned as one of several key green‑infrastructure interventions, alongside storm‑water management, habitat creation and community engagement. The full progress report, published on the council’s website, outlines that the 50,000 trees form part of a longer‑term ambition to increase canopy cover and biodiversity, with subsequent phases targeting a 25 per cent tree‑canopy benchmark by 2030.

The report also notes that the work has been supported by capital investment, with the council committing several million pounds to temporary and permanent green‑space projects between 2022 and 2026. In its quarterly performance update for 2025–26, the authority states that it “committed to plant 50,000 trees in its 4‑year goal and is on track,” indicating that the 50,000‑tree milestone effectively closes one stage of that pledge.

Where have the 50,000 trees been planted?

According to the council’s progress report and accompanying local‑news coverage, plantings have taken place across a range of settings, including residential streets, parks, cemeteries, woodlands and school grounds. Community outlet Around Ealing reported in March 2026 that “more than 50,000 new trees have been planted across the borough, helping to cool our streets, improve air quality and create homes for wildlife.”

Large‑scale woodland projects have featured prominently in the tally. As Around Ealing detailed, the council’s plan to create two new woodland areas at Horsenden Hill and Marnham Field involved planting more than 13,500 trees, which were described as part of the “ambitious programme of planting 50,000 more trees by 2026.” A separate article on the same outlet notes that the council has also planted thousands of street trees to provide shade and improve the visual quality of local roads.

The council’s own guidance on the “Benefits of trees” page states that the borough already has over 24,000 street trees, 50,000 trees in parks and open spaces, and thousands more in cemeteries and woodlands. The 50,000 additional trees planted since 2022 are framed as an augmentation of this existing stock, designed to increase canopy cover and ecological resilience.

How many trees were planted in each year?

While the council’s 2022–2026 progress report does not publish a year‑by‑year breakdown of every planting, it confirms that the 50,000‑tree milestone has been reached across the four‑year period starting in 2022. Earlier reporting from local outlets provides some indicative figures for the early years of the campaign.

In a February 2023 article on Around Ealing, journalist Joe Acklam reported that Ealing Council planted 7,000 trees between November 2022 and March 2023 alone, describing this as part of the broader biodiversity action plan launched in 2022. He noted that the tree‑planting season typically runs from November to March, and that the council had already “planted 7,000 trees in those five months” within that first winter.

An earlier Around Ealing news piece from February 2023, written by a different reporter, also stated that “by the end of March, an amazing 7,000 trees will have been planted across the borough in just five months,” again underlining the scale of activity in the first planting season after the 2022–2026 plan was formalised.

How is the target being funded and delivered?

Funding and delivery of the 50,000‑tree programme are structured through a mix of council capital budgets, external partnerships and community‑led sponsorship schemes. As reported in the council’s quarterly performance document for 2025–26, Ealing has committed to planting 50,000 trees over four years as part of its climate‑action work and notes that the authority is “on track” to meet this target.

The document adds that, since 2022, the council has invested £21.2 million into temporary and related environmental projects, indicating that green‑infrastructure measures such as tree planting are supported by multi‑year capital allocations. In parallel, the council has worked with specialist organisations such as Trees for Streets to extend the reach of the tree‑planting programme.

As reported by an unnamed journalist on Ealing News in January 2023, Ealing Council partnered with Trees for Streets to allow residents and businesses to sponsor trees in streets and parks across Acton, Ealing, Greenford, Hanwell, Northolt, Perivale and Southall. The article stated that trees planted under this scheme are counted toward the overall 50,000‑tree target, with the council emphasising that “local residents” can help “reach our target of planting 50,000 across Ealing by 2026.”

What role have volunteers and residents played?

Volunteers and residents have played a visible role in the 50,000‑tree campaign, particularly in the creation of new woodland areas and community planting events. In a December 2023 article on Around Ealing, the council invited local people to join in planting trees at Horsenden Hill and Marnham Field, describing it as part of the “ambitious programme of planting 50,000 more trees by 2026.”

Later coverage by Around Ealing in March 2026 highlighted that the 50,000‑tree milestone was achieved “with the help of our amazing teams, dedicated volunteers of all ages and local residents,” echoing wording used in the council’s own social‑media announcement. The article also noted that residents and businesses have used the Trees for Streets platform to sponsor trees in their neighbourhoods, schools and high streets, effectively expanding the council’s tree‑planting budget.

Ealing Council’s official Twitter account, @EalingCouncil, posted on March 23, 2026 that “We’ve planted 50,000 trees across the borough since 2022. Huge thanks to our amazing teams, dedicated volunteers of all ages, and local residents for helping us reach this milestone.” That statement has been widely cited in local‑news coverage as the official council synopsis of the programme’s achievement.

What environmental benefits does the council claim?

The council and its partners have repeatedly emphasised the multiple environmental and social benefits of the 50,000‑tree programme. In the 2022–2026 progress report, the authority stated that the trees create “vital habitats, tree canopies for shade and helping to absorb harmful carbon,” directly linking the plantings to climate‑mitigation goals.

A separate council page on the “Benefits of trees” quantifies the existing tree stock in Ealing as removing 1.2 tonnes of pollutants from the air annually, storing 847 tonnes of carbon, and providing storm‑water attenuation for 112,400 cubic metres of water. The 50,000 additional trees planted since 2022 are framed as an expansion of these services, with the aim of improving air quality, reducing urban heat and mitigating flood risk.

In a 2023 Around Ealing feature on the Brilliant Trees of Ealing campaign, Councillor Deirdre Costigan is quoted as saying that trees “provide us with oxygen, clean the air we breathe, stabilise the soil and provide sustenance to our local wildlife,” as well as creating shade and improving mental‑health outcomes for residents. The article adds that the 50,000‑tree programme is helping to create an “urban forest” for people across the borough to enjoy.