Trees are under threat – we need your help today

Trees are the foundation of healthy ecosystems. However, periods of high temperatures from climate change are getting more common. This has fatal consequences for our trees. 

As the UK’s climate changes, as many as 1 in 6 tree species planted at Kew will no longer be suited to grow here in the next two decades. Much-loved British natives such as English oak (Quercus robur), common beech (Fagus sylvatica), silver birch (Betula pendula) and holly trees (Ilex aquifolium) could be at risk. 

Without immediate intervention, we risk losing some of the world’s most precious ecosystems, along with the benefits they provide: clean air, carbon storage, flood mitigation, and essential resources for communities worldwide. 

Time is running out. We need to act now.

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Last summer, we launched our Landscape Succession Plan: Kew's roadmap for protecting trees everywhere. This is a huge project where we’re identifying and planting climate-resilient tree species instead of the species that are currently struggling to survive: 

• We use novel climate models to determine the species we need to start planting nationally now. 
• Certain species found in Kew’s collection are shown to be resilient if they are sourced from areas where the current climate mirrors the conditions we expect to see in the UK in the coming decades. 
• We are working with organisations and research partners globally to plan seed-collecting trips to these regions such as Romania, Georgia and Serbia. 
• We are creating a blueprint for tree planting to help anyone plant the right trees in the right place