Cambridge Canopy Project: building climate resilience using trees and canopy cover

The pilot aims to help the City of Cambridge adapt to climate change by increasing tree canopy cover and contributing to the sustainable management of the City’s urban forest.

It complements and enhances the City’s current arboricultural activities by means of of several standard urban forestry approaches to tree planting, tree protection and public engagement. In addition, urban tree canopy assessment and prioritisation tools have been developed to support sustainable management of the City’s tree stock, and to help identify areas for priority interventions.

It will directly contribute to, and encourage tree planting in the short-term and ensure increased levels of tree protection in the City. This will deliver benefits to help mitigate against the predicted changes in climate brought about by global warming in the long-term.

Finally, the investment aspires to demonstrate to a wide target audience the value of investing in the urban forest, and that by applying one or more urban forest approaches, maintained and enhanced flows of ecosystem services can be achieved.