In October 2019, Honiton Town Council made the decision to be carbon neutral by 2030.

To achieve this, it is critical to plant additional trees to store carbon.

An initial target of 1,000 trees need to be planted by the end of 2020.

Paul Shaw, a resident of Honiton, has been looking at ways to help with climate change in the town.

Members of the public are invited to pledge whatever they can afford to help offset the initial cost of planting the first 1,000 trees in the autumn of 2020.

All of the saplings planted will all be indigenous to the UK and will be planted by volunteers.

Trees will be planted on public land, schools, parkland, in private gardens and on farmland - all with the owner's permission.

Typical CO2 emissions per person per annum in the UK is 6.5 Tons.

To offset this by planting trees alone would take approximately 33 trees per person.

1,000 trees will be a start and will offset the carbon emission for about 2% of the population.

£2 per person in Honiton would provide 12,000 trees and offset approximately 24% of all carbon produced in Honiton.

Trees are essential to maintaining our climate and biodiversity. Trees contribute to the global environment by improving air quality, conserving water, preserving soil, and supporting wildlife.

During the process of photosynthesis, trees take out carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and produce the oxygen we breathe.

Some trees also act as air filters to cleanse the air of some particles that cause poor health.

Trees are the largest plants on the planet and the longest living species on earth, providing a link between the past, present and future.

Some Oak trees for instance can live for over 1000 years, so a woodland planted today could easily outlive all of us and provide a long term carbon store.

A small amount of trees can be provided from other sources and initiatives, but these numbers are very limited.

The sooner we get this project off the ground we can get trees ordered from suppliers.

If members of the public are happy to help us plant and provide land or gardens for planting, please get in touch on Facebook @greenerhoniton.

Once the trees are planted everyone can watch a project that they funded grow every year.

Please give generously and lets get ready to plant trees. Everyone in the town of Honiton will benefit from this project.

Click here to donate.