London developer Avanton have volunteered with charity Trees For Cities to plant 300 trees along Agnes Street in East London.

The young trees, which are a variety of native and non-native species will help to tackle air pollution from nearby roads and sequester CO2 emissions. The trees also add colour throughout the seasons, provide habitats and food sources for local urban wildlife and create shade throughout the summer months.

The 300 trees planted by the Avanton team in Mile End are the bulk of trees that will make up a hedgerow of 500 whips along Agnes Street. Alongside the young trees, Trees For Cities have planted 20 large trees, areas of native hedgerow and woodland habitat.

The East London project is one of many undertaken by Trees For Cities. Each year, trees in London remove 2.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. The trees also remove many thousands of tonnes of air pollution; dust and other gaseous toxins from the capital at a value estimated at £126m in public health savings annually.

Under the auspices of the UN environmental programme, Trees For Cities have planted 200,000 trees in 16 cities in 13 countries. By planting thousands of urban trees, Trees For Cities is building resilience against threats facing the environment by enhancing structural and functional diversity in woodlands and on city streets as well building resistance to pests and disease. Trees For Cities have planted around 1,118,000 trees since 1993 and engaged 125,000 volunteers.

Avanton will be offsetting their carbon footprint in the future and are incorporating green outdoor spaces at their Coda site in Battersea and pipeline projects on Old Kent Road.

Omer Weinberger, Chief Executive Director at Avanton commented “Avanton are thrilled to have spent the day planting 300 young trees with Trees for Cities in Mile End. As a London developer, providing new outdoor spaces for local London communities is something we feel passionate about. The work Trees For Cities do is fantastic and we proud to have supported them.”

Catherine Cheesman, Corporate Volunteering Coordinator at Trees For Cities commented: “Trees For Cities would like to thank Avanton for helping to plant 300 new trees in East London. We would not be able to do our work without our volunteers so we are grateful for the time Avanton spent with us. We look forward to now seeing the new trees grow on Agnes Street which will greatly benefit the local community there.”