The Woodland Trust is encouraging communities to help make Wiltshire greener by offering out thousands of free trees ready for planting.

The county of Wiltshire currently has a combined tree canopy coverage of 14 per cent, which is three per cent below national government targets.

This is also below the council's commitments set out in the Climate strategy, and Green and blue infrastructure strategy.

Not only is tree coverage important for fighting climate change and boosting nature, but research has shown that trees can have a direct, positive effect on health, combat flooding, and reduce pollution.

Now, with the Woodland Trust’s offer to give out 30,000 free trees to schools, community groups and locals, increasing Wiltshire’s tree coverage has become a realistic possibility.

But despite the thousands of trees on offer, the Woodland Trust has revealed that applications for these are at an all-time low.

“This is an amazing opportunity for any schools and communities to do something really positive for the New Year,” said Steve Shill, senior project lead in woodland creation.

“It only takes a few minutes to apply, and these trees could literally bring several lifetimes of benefits.”

Lawn Manor Academy in Swindon is just one of the schools to have benefitted from the offer, as they took forest school children to plant trees at a neglected churchyard in Old Town.

“The pupils really got into the community spirit and could see the improvement they were making to the area, so it was a very rewarding morning for them,” said Lee Horsford, from Lawn Manor Academy.

The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald: Lawn Manor Academy is just one of the schools to have received free trees from the Woodland Trust.Lawn Manor Academy is just one of the schools to have received free trees from the Woodland Trust. (Image: Lawn Manor Academy)

Free tree packs come as packs of either 30, 105 or 420 trees, depending on which pack you apply for, and trees come in different varieties to suit their purpose – from hedging, copse, for wildlife or wild harvest.

The tree packs have been funded by lead partners Sainsbury's, Lloyds Bank, OVO Energy, Bank of Scotland and Sofology.

But with applications for the free trees closing on Monday, January 8, The Woodland Trust are urging Wiltshire locals and groups not to let these trees go to waste.

To apply to receive a tree pack, you do not need to meet any criteria besides having a location in mind with permission from the landowner to plant the trees, and you can apply for the packs on the Woodland Trust website.

Packs ordered now will be ready for delivery in March.