Tree Equity Score tool has launched

The new UK Tree Equity Score tool has launched. The tool is a collaboration between American Forests, the US non-profit organisation that created Tree Equity Score, the Woodland Trust and the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare (CSH). 

 

What is the Tree Equity Score?

Trees give us enormous benefits but are not evenly distributed. The UK Tree Equity Score uses new tree canopy datasets from Google, as well as six other datasets relating to UK health, socioeconomics, and climate to provide the most accurate picture of tree equity in the UK. Tree Equity Score is available to most urban areas in the UK. 



What does this mean for sustainable healthcare? 

The online tool, which will be demonstrated at COP28, shows that people in less affluent areas have lower levels of tree cover and higher risk of health problems from poor air quality. Poor access to tree cover is also associated with heat-related deaths and poor mental health. Tree Equity Score aligns with the NHS’s goal of tackling health inequalities and prevention set out in the NHS Long Term Plan. We hope Tree Equity Score will become a useful tool for healthcare sites and surrounding communities helping them to plan where trees are needed most and where they can have the greatest impact.

 

Want to know more?

To read more and find out your neighbourhood Tree Equity Score as well as how to receive free trees for NHS sites in England, please visit the NHS Forest website.