Lib Dems provide 128,000 new trees for Hertfordshire

Even more new trees will be planted in Hertfordshire this year.

The Lib Dem-run county council will now provide 128,000 saplings in 2025/26.

Each and every tree boosts the environment - and makes Hertfordshire a greener and leafier place to live.

The new figure is a 13% increase on the previous total of 113,000.

It’s nearly 40,000 more trees than the former Tory administration planted last year.

And it’s the most in the council’s history, with the exception of a special Jubilee project in 2022.

The huge increase in tree-planting comes after Liberal Democrats took control of the authority, nine months ago.

The party pledged to protect and enhance Hertfordshire’s local environment.

The majority of the saplings are given free to residents to plant in their own gardens, through the expanded ‘Your Tree, Our Future’ scheme.

Professional guidance is available to help care for the tree as it grows.

Hertfordshire County Council also provides trees for many other uses on public and private land.

These include highway verges, community orchards, hedgerows, new woodland, and habitat creation.

Cllr Paul Zukowskyj, Lib Dem executive member for environment said:

“We were really pleased to get to 113,000 trees - but then realised we had the capacity to take things even further.

“128,000 is a very significant figure. All these trees will trap carbon and increase biodiversity. They’ll augment gardens, verges, and green spaces.

“I’d like to heartily thank council officers for their hard work and dedication in achieving this amazing result.

“Next year, our Lib Dem council will set an even more ambitious target”.

For more information about ‘Your Tree Our Future’ and how you can get involved in future initiatives, visit www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/yourtree