Tree planting on healthcare sites

Register now for fully funded trees for your healthcare site

Last season we supplied 27,000 trees to 140 sites. 95% of applicants were ‘very satisfied’ with the trees we provided and would recommend us to other trusts.

This year we are offering three different tree planting schemes:

• tree bundles – best for small to medium healthcare sites, includes a variety of bundles from 10 trees upwards
• woodland creation scheme – best for bigger healthcare sites
• orchard scheme – best for healthcare sites looking for fruit trees

All our schemes are available for NHS sites in England.

We also hope to have some limited capacity to fulfill smaller orders in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The tree planting season runs from November to March, but you can put in an expression of interest today to reserve trees. Your order can be easily amended later if required, but the advance notice really helps us plan the season. 

Not sure how many trees you can fit on your site? It’s probably more than you think. Read our handy guide to find out.

When I came here as a patient, the gardens, the green spaces really made me feel like there was a light at the end of the tunnel, because when you’re in a hospital environment, it’s very clinical, it’s quite scary. I think nature and the outside can have a real big effect during a patient’s journey; it certainly did for me.

Juliet Fitzpatrick Former patient at Mount Vernon Cancer Centre

Why plant trees on healthcare sites?

Planting trees on healthcare sites creates better places to live and work. Trees provide privacy and seclusion for staff and patients, cool buildings, provide cleaner air, create habitats for native wildlife and store carbon. Want to know more about why planting trees on healthcare sites is important? Read our blog about why humans need trees for health or visit our evidence database with links to the latest green space research.

How do the schemes work?

Once you have completed the online form for the trees you want, we will try to provide trees to all those who would like them. This is on a first come, first served basis. We will confirm orders beforehand. At that point you will need to complete a tree agreement form confirming that the land where trees will be planted is not scheduled for development in the next ten years, and that you take responsibility for planting and ongoing maintenance. Trees will be delivered to your site between November 2024 and March 2025.

Our guidance pack has everything you need to know about tree planting. You can also find further information on our Frequently Asked Questions page.

Ordered your trees and want to know what to do next? Read about how to start planning for your tree delivery.

Tree bundles

We have bundles in sizes ranging from 10 to 240 trees. Each bundle has been designed to provide a variety of benefits, such as attracting wildlife or providing spring colour, and contains trees of different species and sizes.

If you already know which bundle you would like, you can go straight to the expression of interest form.

Woodland creation

If you will be planting at least 300 trees, you qualify for a custom mix of UK native trees not restricted to species or specifications used in our bundles. These trees must be supplied – but not necessarily planted – together. This is a great option for those sites with either a few large areas or multiple smaller areas. The scheme can also be used to extend an existing woodland. We will work closely with applicants to develop a site-specific offer that is appropriate for the land and delivers against your objectives for planting. For woodland creation projects, we aim to offer in-person advice and guidance whenever feasible.

Tiny Healthy Forests

We are also working with Earthwatch to plant six Tiny Forests on NHS sites in England. A Tiny Forest is a dense, fast-growing native woodland. It is typically made up of 600 trees planted in a tennis-court-sized plot of 200m². If you would like your site to be considered for a Tiny Forest, please apply through the woodland creation expression of interest form.

If you already know you would like to request our support with woodland creation, you can go straight to the expression of interest form.

Orchard scheme

We have up to 2000 fully funded fruit trees to allocate to NHS sites in England. We anticipate our healthcare orchards scheme will be in high demand so submit your expression of intrerest as soon as possible. These fruit trees will come in multiples of 10. 

If you already know you would like to plant an orchard, you can go straight to the expression of interest form.

Tree planting and carbon offsetting

We do not offer NHS Forest trees as part of carbon offsetting initiatives – we explain why here.

If you would like to support our work but are not able to plant trees, you can sponsor a tree for the NHS Forest.

Our tree planting in England is funded by the Trees Call to Action Fund and Nature for Climate Fund. Trees Call to Action was developed by Defra in partnership with the Forestry Commission and is being delivered by the Heritage Fund whilst Nature for Climate was developed by Defra with support from the Forestry Commission.