When it is hot, one of the best places to be is under a tree. You don’t need a scientific study to tell you that. But research shows just how important that cooling is and why access to trees will matter increasingly as temperatures rise.

At King Jesus College, the positive changes are already visible. This year 550 trees went into the ground: mangoes, jackfruit, avocado, terminalia, grevillea, musizi and more – species chosen for the site, the soil and for what they can give back to the community around them.

One of the most rewarding parts of my role at ITF is seeing young trees beginning to establish and meeting the people whose enthusiasm has made these projects possible.

Across the UK, ITF works with community organisations to plant trees in places people use and enjoy, schools, farm shops and parks, as well as alongside popular walking and parkrun routes.

In Ganzo village on the lower slopes of Mount Elgon, Annet Kanyanga had a plan. Like many of her neighbours she’d been earning an extra income planting trees in the national park, part of a restoration project run by ITF and local partner METGE. Now that the work was finished, she knew exactly where the money she was making would go.   

El Niño is not a recent phenomenon. It was first used by Peruvian fisherman in the 1600s. But this year, there’s growing confidence that it could become one of the strongest on record, bringing both opportunities and calamity for tree planters.

The need is urgent. According to Botanic Gardens Conservation International and its State of the World’s Trees report, around 30% of the world’s tree species are threatened with extinction. That is a stark figure. It reflects what we see on the ground: forests under pressure and the risk of species quietly disappearing.

In Kobujoi Forest we only found two mature East African greenheart trees from which we could collect seeds. But this Earth Day could help save Kenya’s native trees.

We’re working to conserve and protect threatened trees and ensure they don’t disappear from Kenya’s forests. From the fast-growing but overharvested Meru oak to the 40 metre African cherry whose prized bark is used in medicines.

We’re working with local communities to find, grow and plant trees that are threatened with extinction. Through hands-on training, we’re equipping people to identify and monitor threatened species, grow their seeds in community tree nurseries, plant them in reforestation projects and protect them for the long term.

Losing even a single tree species can trigger a chain reaction of ecosystem collapse: forests are more vulnerable to fire and disease, habitats shrink, countless wildlife species and microorganisms are pushed to extinction and tree-dependent communities are plunged into crisis. Once a species is extinct, it’s lost forever.

The indicators that show a clear revival of biodiversity across restored ecosystems, thanks to tree planting.

Jonathan Drori, ITF trustee and bestselling author of Around the World in 80 Trees writes about a cedar of Lebanon and what it means to him.

The events of 2025 have shown starkly that we are living through a climate and nature crisis that is pushing the planet to the brink. Rising temperatures, more frequent floods and droughts and accelerating biodiversity loss are placing unprecedented pressure on both ecosystems and the communities that depend on them.

Daniel Misaki lives in Western Uganda between Queen Elizabeth National Park and the Rwenzori Mountains National Park, two beautiful but deeply degraded landscapes. Daniel shared with ITF his journey from poacher to environmentalist.

It has been a very wet start to the year in the UK. With 50 consecutive days or rain for some.

For many of us, the persistently grey skies have simply been wearying. For British farmers, the consequences are more serious.

In his new book, The Great Tree Story, the British explorer, author and photographer Levison Wood explores the profound influence forests have had on our planet and civilisation from their vital role in our past to their importance for our future

A new Exeter University study argues that in conditions of extreme climate uncertainty, the rewards of tree planting outweigh the risks.

It’s easy to measure our work by the number of trees planted; working with communities to grow trees is why we exist. But if we only count trees, we miss the bigger picture.

Test your knowledge on the theme of trees

When France banned pesticides in cemeteries, Head Curator or the Ivry Cemetery, on the fringes of Paris, Benoît Gallot was sceptical. But the difference inspired a whole new way of life.