A WOODLAND conservation charity is resuming its popular scheme which delivers free trees to communities.

The Woodland Trust has ambitious plans to break its record annual giveaway of more than 1.3million free trees to schools and community groups as the next round of tree-pack applications opens.

Applications for trees to be delivered in spring 2023 are now open and Woodland Trust senior project lead Vicki Baddeley hopes even more schools and groups will take up the offer of free saplings and get planting in the coming year.

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She said: “This year our communities have really felt the impact of climate change first hand, and many are seeing the incredible benefits trees can bring to provide much needed shade, shelter, and help to prevent flooding.

“By offering the free packs we aim to equip our schools and communities with a simple yet mighty tool to combat the effects of climate change, as well as provide ever more vital food and habitats for local wildlife.”

The figures for 2022 are the charity’s best ever, surpassing the previous best total of more than 1.1million in 2021.

The Woodland Trust's free tree pack scheme has seen trees sent far and wide this year, with the spring giveaway delivering a total of 623,910 saplings to 3,885 organisations around the UK.

The tree packs have been generously funded by lead partners: Sainsbury's, Lloyds Bank, Ovo Energy, DFS, Joules, Bank of Scotland and Sofology.

Vicki added: “We couldn't do this without the support and generosity of our funders.

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“We have great backing, and our thanks go out to each of them for their vital support.

“The desire to plant trees is growing all the time and we expect demand for our free trees to be even greater this time out.

“There will be 600,000 saplings up for grabs in the spring round of applications and I have no doubt they will go quickly so I would advise any interested groups to apply sooner rather than later to secure their saplings!

“Giving away 1.3million in 2022 will be a huge achievement, but I am confident we can do even better in 2023 and deliver every one of the 1.4m saplings available.”

To apply for the Woodland Trust’s free trees scheme, visit woodlandtrust.org.uk/freetrees.