A mere four years since the project was launched, Cardiff’s urban forest has reached 100,000 trees planted throughout the city. The Coed Caerdydd programme was first established by Cardiff city council in 2021 as part of its strategy for achieving net zero carbon use and promoting greener and healthier city. The event was marked by the first tree planting in Greenway Park in Rumney.

The urban forest has primarily been funded by Cardiff City Council and the Welsh government with additional resources provided by Woodland Trust and Trees for Cities. This has allowed over thirty native species planted in over three-hundred different sites throughout the city including parks, streets, and schools. With the work of over 7,000 Coed Caerdydd community volunteers, they are aiming to reach 110,000 trees planted by the end of this planting season and secure 25% tree canopy coverage in the city by the end of the ten-year project. The cabinet member for Culture, Parks and Events, Cllr Jennifer Burke has praised Cardiff’s urban forest with having made the city “a greener more pleasant place to live” with positive environmental impacts that “make a significant contribution towards our vision for a carbon-neutral Cardiff”. The increase in green spaces has been crucial to climate regulation, with trees removing 10.5% of emissions from transport, including 7,900 tonnes of carbon. This is equivalent to the emissions of 14,000 cars in a year. A report by Forest Research found that Cardiff’s trees intercept a total of 256 tonnes of rainfall each year, contributing to the efforts to mitigate the effects of flooding and storm damage.

The Coed Caerdydd programme has also been beneficial in protecting the city’s natural species and habitats and encouraging healthy lifestyles by investing in parks and green spaces.

Despite its achievements, there is still a long way to go and a lot of work to be done for Cardiff City Council to reach its goals of establishing a carbon-neutral city by 2030. Cllr Jennifer Burke has urged people to give their time to making their city greener having said: “I’d encourage as many people as possible to get involved and join us at a community tree planting session”.

Tree planting season runs from November to March and free tree-planting events are being held in green spaces all over Cardiff in the next month.