How we can all help grow trees in towns and cities

BEING called a “tree hugger” used to be a mild insult, but there is a growing appreciation for the benefits of trees. Their best-known environmental asset is to take in carbon dioxide from the air, but in towns and cities they have other useful qualities too.

In summer, trees cool hot streets, while in times of high rainfall, they take up water, stopping it from running into drains too quickly and causing floods. As climate change will lead most of the UK to have hotter summers and wetter winters, trees help on both counts.

Cities and towns are usually several …