On 30 September 2026, the Environment Secretary announced £79 million in new government funding to help communities across England restore nature and adapt to climate change, according to the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs.

Of the total, £53 million was earmarked for a Community Trees Fund to plant up to 500,000 trees outside woodlands between April 2027 and March 2030, including on streets, in parks and across rural landscapes. The department said trees on city streets can reduce air temperatures by as much as 4°C and that one mature tree can intercept over 15,000 litres of rainwater a year. A further £26 million was allocated to 48 local authorities responsible for Local Nature Recovery Strategies, worth around £185,000 per authority per year; funding for authorities that had already published their strategies was said to have been handed over.

The department said the funding would support progress toward statutory tree planting and nature targets, net zero, and the government's international commitment to conserve and manage at least 30% of land for nature by 2030. Further details of the trees fund were to be set out in due course.