Barratt Homes has made a £1,500 donation to City of Trees, Greater Manchester’s community forest, to support their work to make the city-region a greener place to live, work and play.

The tree and woodland management charity for Greater Manchester aims to create healthier, happier communities, tackle the climate emergency, and provide essential habitats for wildlife.

Barratt Homes’ Community Fund donation came as part of the Barratt Developments Plc Charitable Foundation, which is designed to support national and local charities, large and small, across the UK to leave a legacy in the communities in which the housebuilder operates.

The contribution will help the charity continue its goals to plant millions of trees across Greater Manchester to help combat the climate emergency as well as restoring woodlands across the region, connecting communities to their local trees through their volunteer programme, Citizen Forester.

Alex Bedford, Fundraising Manager at City of Trees, said: “Money donated to local charities such as City of Trees is used to fund important work which aims to tackle the climate emergency at a local level, and empowers people living in the region to take action and learn key green skills.

“The donation from Barratt Homes will help to plant 150 trees.

“We involve local communities, members of the public, businesses and school children through our Citizen Forester events, giving them an opportunity to take part in tree planting and woodland management events in their local area. This helps to improve their local green spaces, improve biodiversity and boost people’s wellbeing and mental health.”

City of Trees has planted over 750,000 trees in Greater Manchester since 2016, and also collected 204 bin liners of rubbish from local woodlands.

It ran over 160 tree planting and woodland maintenance volunteer events last year and, in the process, engaged with over 3,000 school children and 2,700 other volunteers.

Rhys Nicholson, Managing Director at Barratt Homes Manchester, said: “As a leading sustainable housebuilder, we recognise the importance of the work of City and Trees and all of its volunteers can be immensely proud of their continued efforts.

“We’re very proud of our own achievements in building wildlife-friendly developments to give nature a home, and it was a privilege to support a charity with shared goals through our Community Fund scheme.”

In the last financial year, Barratt Homes Manchester created 5.8 hectares of green space through public open space and private gardens. It also used 99% sustainably certified timber as part of the construction process for its developments.

Trees are incredibly important in addressing the climate emergency. All of Greater Manchester’s trees lock up 56,530 tonnes of carbon each year, and 1,573,013 tonnes of carbon is currently locked up in trees across the region.

The county’s trees also produce 122,450 tonnes of oxygen per year and intercept 1,644,415m3 of stormwater run-off every year in Greater Manchester, which can help reduce instances of flooding.

For more information about the charity, visit the website at City of Trees.

To apply for funding from Barratt Homes, visit the website at Barratt Legacy.

For further information about Barratt Homes, visit www.barratthomes.co.uk.