Islington is the third smallest, but most built up of all London boroughs with a population of around 220,000. Our council has recorded nearly 40,000 trees in Islington on private, residential and council property. We are a lucky borough as Islington’s tree canopy is currently measured at 25%, above London’s average of 21%. However, less than 1% of our trees are protected by a Tree Preservation Order (TPO). That's just under 400 trees. Not many, is it.  it's not a way to treat our friends. And make no mistake, trees are our friends - just look what they do for us:

Health
The recent lockdown has proved the value of open spaces, greenery and trees to our physical and mental wellbeing. Studies have shown that when tree cover is reduced asthma rates and respiratory problems often increase. And as we know, Covid is a respiratory disease.

Air purification
Trees remove air pollutants from the atmosphere by capturing pollutants and absorbing them through their leaves, branches and stems.

Noise mitigation
Trees can mitigate urban noise through the scattering and absorption of sound waves by their leaves, branches and trunks.

Rain water regulation
Urban trees and woodlands regulate rainwater and stormwater by intercepting and storing rainfall on their leaves.

Carbon sequestration and storage
Trees act as a sink for carbon dioxide (CO2) by fixing and storing excess carbon above and below ground. Increasing the number of trees can therefore slow the accumulation of carbon, a contributor to climate change.

In June 2019, the council declared a climate emergency and so should be treasuring and protecting all our trees in an attempt to mitigate some of the risks of our changing climate. A pledge was made to work towards being a carbon net zero borough by 2030 so there's much work to be done in the next 10 years.  Let's start now.

I would like the council to change their process by automatically covering the remaining 99% of our trees by a TPO, with a tree being opted out only on specific grounds of disease, danger to the public or causing severe damage to existing walls or buildings in the immediate vicinity.

We can't stand by and let the council and developers chop down trees,  trees which are of such benefit to us all and are increasingly a vital part of our defences in protecting us from climate change.   Please sign this petition and help us get to 2,000 signatures when a proper public debate can be held.