The Parks Trust secures funding to plant 13,000 more trees this winter!
Published: 20/11/2025
We're excited to share that we have been awarded a grant which will enable us to plant 13,000 new trees and 2,000 metres of hedgerow plants across Milton Keynes this winter. This has been made possible thanks to funding from Defra, through The Tree Council’s Trees Outside Woodland Fund.
The Trees Outside Woodland (TOW) Fund is an amazing initiative offering grants of up to £40,000 for local authorities and larger charities like ours to grow trees on land that’s publicly accessible or benefits the community. This year, we successfully secured over £18,000 through the TOW Fund! That money will go directly into purchasing more than 13,000 trees and 2,000 metres of hedgerow plants.
Planting will take place from now until February next year and will be carried out with the help of Parks Trust volunteers, community groups and students from local Primary and Secondary Schools. You can also get involved by joining our Community Volunteering task on Saturday 31 January at Stanton Low Park or look out for upcoming planting events with Community Trees MK.
Frank Gill, our Head of Operations and Forestry, shared his excitement on the news:
“We are delighted to have received this grant from Trees Outside Woodland Fund. This additional funding will allow us to plant three new orchards, 1.3km’s of new hedgerows, two shelterbelts and individual trees across the parks.”
And Sara Lom, CEO of The Tree Council, explains why this matters:
“Trees outside woodland are the trees we all come across most often – those in our parks, on our streets, and even the hedgerows that help capture carbon and act as heritage highways for a rich array of wildlife. We’re delighted to be partnering with Defra to offer this additional Tree Council grant opportunity to benefit people, wildlife and our planet, and especially The Parks Trust!”
With National Tree Week happening from 22–30 November 2025, marking the official start of tree planting season, we’re running over 15 tree planting sessions for local school groups.
Learn more about how we care and develop over 6,000 acres of parks and green spaces in Milton Keynes in our landscape management section.
