National Tree Week

National Tree Week, which runs from 23 November to 1 December, is the UK’s largest annual tree celebration, marking the start of the winter planting season.

Here at Raise Cumbria, every week is Tree Week! We’re passionate about trees and woodlands, and we love sharing that passion with others.

As part of the celebrations our team have shared some of their favourite trees – with many featuring in projects we’ve been involved in across Cumbria – along with some interesting facts and information.

Nathan, Woodland Creation Advisor:

“I picked this lovely autumnal birch leaf as it caught my eye amongst the leaf litter.

Birch is a pioneer species, and can grow in harsh conditions that other trees and plants can’t. Once there, they create shelter and richer soils that benefits other plants and animals – paving the way for a new woodland ecosystem.

Their deep roots draw nutrients up from depths that other plants might not be able to access, and they improve the soils by using Nitrogen fixing nodules on their roots and by creating leaf litter which returns nutrients to the top layer of soil.

All these factors make birch a fantastic species for creating new woodland, and that’s why last year we planted nearly 15,000 of them!”

Isobel, Programme Manager:

"I picked an oak leaf as it was the first tree I ever learned how to identify. The unique curvy lines of its leaves are quite distinctive, and I enjoy collecting acorns. I also love folk tales, and the oak has always been a key feature in British lore. Oak therefore has always seemed a bit magical to me.

Across our sites we planted a total of 20,497 oak trees over the last year; some as a small part of a diverse species mix to encourage biodiversity, and others in a greater density where we can grow straighter and taller trees, ideal for future timbers. It’s all part of creating sustainable woodlands for our community”.

Zoe, Data and Insights Manager:

"Hawthorns remind me of hedgerows and crisp autumn days, walking down back lonnings in North Cumbria and collecting haws, damsons and sloes to make preserves. The berries contain high levels of pectin, so they're perfect to use in jams and have a delicate apple flavour. The young leaves are also edible and can be used in salads.

Hawthorn is our most popular hedging plant, and during our 2023/24 planting season we planted a whopping 37,126 trees across 18 different sites”.

Tania, Project Consultant:

"Hazels are an important habitat for the hazel dormouse, a protected species that the University of Cumbria recently successfully reintroduced to woodlands on the Cumbrian/Lancashire border.

Hazels are readily coppiced, which prolongs the life of the tree as well as supplying a regular harvest of timber. The wood can be used in crafts, for fuel, in fencing, to make charcoal, and historically in the supply of huge quantities of bobbins to the textile industry.

I love foraging for fresh, green hazelnuts in late summer and early autumn before leaving them to dry on a windowsill.

During 2023/24 we planted 4,721 hazels across 17 different sites”.

Gary, Forester:

"Ginkgo biloba (Ginkgo) is my favourite tree because they are a great example of the diversity and curiosities that are trees. They are a living fossil; a term used to describe organisms that have remained almost unchanged for millions of years. Fossils of Ginkgo leaves have been discovered that date back 290 million years!

Gingkos are an excellent urban street tree, as they provide shade, are tolerant of city pollution and resistant to pests and diseases. We haven't planted any so far, but would love to find the right urban planting project to showcase this stunning tree”

Ruth, Woodland Creation Officer:

“An open grown oak makes a fantastic climbing tree. I spent much of my childhood exploring how high I could climb, enjoying the peace of swaying in the canopy, once-removed from the rest of life that I could look on with a different perspective.

Oaks are one of our most iconic native tree species. They are our longest-living broadleaf, and where they have space to spread out, they can live to be 1000 years old! They provide a whole range of micro-habitats for other species; birds, bats, small mammals, insects, arthropods, aerial plants, and fungi all find space to live amongst an ancient oak, making them an asset to our Cumbrian temperate rainforests.

They are also excellent for tree houses!”

You can find out more about National Tree Week over on The Tree Council’s website.

To read more about the different species we’ve planted, and some of the sites where we’ve planted them, take a look at our Case Studies.

If you're interested in planting trees on your land and would like to talk to us about tailored support and funding, we’d love to hear from you.