Our Programmes
Three ways we protect trees.
Evara Tree works across the United Kingdom through three distinct programmes, each addressing a different dimension of tree and woodland loss.
Programme One
Conservation
Restoring what has been lost.
Our Conservation programme focuses on the active restoration of degraded and fragmented woodland across England and Wales. We work with landowners, local authorities and community groups to replant native species, improve soil health and reconnect isolated woodland patches into functioning ecological corridors.
Since 2014, our Conservation teams have planted over 180,000 native trees across 47 sites. We prioritise species that are locally appropriate — oak, ash, hazel, rowan, silver birch and wild cherry — and we monitor every site for a minimum of five years after planting to ensure establishment.
We also run a woodland skills programme, training local volunteers in coppicing, hedge-laying and woodland management. These skills are disappearing from the British countryside, and their loss is itself a threat to the long-term health of our woodlands.
Programme Two
Preservation
Protecting what still stands.
Our Preservation programme is dedicated to the protection of ancient and veteran trees — those that have stood for a century or more and which support extraordinary concentrations of biodiversity. Ancient trees cannot be replaced on any human timescale; once lost, they are gone.
We maintain a register of over 3,200 ancient and veteran trees across the UK, working with the Ancient Tree Inventory and our own field surveyors. For each tree on our register, we assess threats, advise on management and, where necessary, provide legal support to prevent removal.
Our Preservation team also works with planning authorities to ensure that ancient trees are properly identified and protected in the planning process. We have intervened in over 90 planning cases since 2015, successfully protecting trees in 78% of those cases.
Programme Three
Protection
Standing with communities.
Our Protection programme supports communities facing the loss of trees they value — whether through development, disease, neglect or deliberate removal. We provide legal advice, campaign support and practical guidance to groups who would otherwise face these battles alone.
We operate a free legal helpline for community groups, staffed by volunteer solicitors and planning consultants. In 2025 alone, we handled over 400 enquiries and provided formal legal support in 62 cases. Our community organisers also run workshops on tree law, planning rights and how to engage effectively with local authorities.
The Protection programme has a particular focus on urban trees, which are disproportionately threatened by development pressure and which provide vital benefits — shade, air quality, mental health — to urban communities that often have little green space.
Support the work.
Every programme depends on the generosity of people who believe that trees deserve defenders. Your support — however large or small — makes this work possible.