The West Midlands Forest Partnership brings together officers responsible for trees from the seven local authorities which make up the WMCA (Birmingham, Dudley, Coventry, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton). The Partnership is lead by our Forest Partnership Coordinator, a role funded by the Woodland Trust.

The partnership shares knowledge and experience of tree management, project delivery and funding acquisition through regular meetings. The sharing of knowledge allows the development of new ideas and improvement of existing schemes to deliver the best outcomes for trees of the region, and improve the status of trees across our region.

Alongside the council representatives the Forest partnership works with third party organisations from across the public, private and charity sectors to encourage and deliver tree planting across the region.

The WMCA has undertaken the following works from which we have a strong understanding of the status of the regions trees and what is required to achieve canopy cover targets.

Virtual Forest

The Virtual Forest is the WMCA resource for tree related information. Alongside maps tracking the planting going on across the region, you can find information on planting and caring for your trees, and details about funding sources for tree related projects.

Tree Nurseries

Our tree nursery study identified the need and desire for a network of local tree growers to supply the planting needs of the region. Developing this network could provide the species, age and mixes of species required by the region. The local approach is also intended to provide local green jobs. The WMCA Forest team are investigating funding options ahead of taking the scheme forward.

If you’re interested in developing a nursery, or expanding an existing tree or plant nursery, please contact WMVirtualForest@wmca.org.uk

i-Tree Eco

An i-Tree Eco survey of the seven metropolitan areas of the WMCA has been undertaken. The black country survey was undertaken in 2022; with the Birmingham, Solihull and Coventry survey completed in 2023. These surveys provide key information around the structure of the urban trees (species, age, size etc.); but also the ecosystem services values – how much carbon they store, pollutants they intercept, or impacts on flood reduction.

The Black Country reports are available now (both for individual authorities and an overall report) and can be found here. To view a summary of the i-Tree reports click here, or view the reports for Birmingham, Coventry and Solihull. 

Can I host a tree giveaway?

Following the success of the tree giveaway scheme in the last two year, the WMCA Environment Team in partnership with the Woodland Trust has tree saplings to give away at community events and to community groups between October 2024 and March 2025. If you'd like to request trees, please complete this form:

Requesting a tree giveaway event

The ambition for the giveaways is to remove any barriers people may face with greening their gardens and/or community spaces, and we’re keen to hear from groups in areas which lack trees and green space. That’s why we’ll be giving out hardier species which grow well in both the ground and pots, so that you don’t need a garden to benefit from one of the saplings. 

How else can I get involved?

Please take a look at the Virtual Forest’s funding and guidance pages for options for your project. Many of our partners and stakeholders also undertake tree planting events at which you, your group or corporation can volunteer at. Details of these can be found on their websites. For instance, consider:

Birmingham TreePeople – organise many tree planting events across the city and always welcome volunteers who wish to support them locally.

Woodlands Trust - provide free community tree packs for schools and community groups. Click the link to apply for a community tree pack.