Belfast City Council has launched a new 10-year Belfast Tree Strategy.

The strategy aligns with the Council's climate ambitions which intends to connect people to nature.

Belfast City Council's Disability Advisory Panel and the Council's Sustainability and Climate Change Board helped to shape the strategy. Alongside the council, over 900 people engaged in the Belfast Tree Strategy public consultation.

The key actions of the strategy include:

• Moving from a five year to a three-year tree health and condition inspection programme for all park trees,

• Moving from a five year to a two-year tree health and condition tree inspection programme for Department for Infrastructure (DfI) street trees which the council manage on behalf of DfI,

• Undertaking a detailed canopy cover assessment including woodlands and hedges,

creating an 'opportunity tree planting plan' across the city,

• Undertaking a tree equity mapping exercise in partnership with the Woodland Trust,

• Co-ordinating collaborative arrangements to meet the objectives of the council’s One Million Tree initiative,

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• Co-ordinating skills building and feeding into apprenticeship schemes to help achieve the strategy’s objectives,

• Developing and managing woodlands,

• Undertaking a capital asset 'value for amenity' review for council-owned trees,

• Undertaking an Equity Mapping exercise across the city - looking at tree canopy cover in terms of health, air pollution, education, and employment; and

• Providing environmental education, community, and volunteer opportunities to get involved in delivering the strategy.

As part of a launch event, the Lord Mayor planted a 'Survivor' tree gifted from The Green Legacy Hiroshima initiative. The initiative was established to safeguard seedlings of trees that survived the Hiroshima atomic bomb by sharing them with 40 partner countries.

Belfast Lord Mayor Councillor, Ryan Murphy, said: "We're honoured to have been entrusted to plant this Survivor tree in Belfast today, symbolising the resilience of life, a desire for peace – and marking the launch of our new Belfast Tree Strategy, which is all about protecting Belfast’s trees, woodlands, and hedges for today, and for future generations.

"We've listened carefully to people’s concerns and priorities. For example, 93.5% of all respondents feel that there are too few trees in Belfast. So we’re going to introduce more native trees and green spaces into the city – and our city centre, through our Bolder Vision for Belfast.

"We also want to encourage volunteering and give more advice to people planting trees in their own gardens. Our new strategy reflects existing programmes such as Belfast One Million Trees, the Belfast Local Development Plan, the Belfast Agenda, and clearly links tree planting and management with our climate ambitions, as well as the health and well-being benefits that trees provide. I’d like to thank everyone who took time to help us shape this important strategy and to all our partners who will be working with us to deliver on our shared vision."