Trees and Design Action Group

The Trees and Design Action Group (TDAG) is a world first
TDAG brings together a pioneering group of individuals, professionals and organisations from wide ranging disciplines in both the public and private sectors to increase awareness of the role of trees in the built environment. Learn about what we do

Support our work

News

Covid-19 Update: new TDAG videos about key urban forestry issues coming soon

Covid-19 means that many of us are now working from home in self-isolation. In response to the pandemic TDAG has cancelled all person to person meetings for the foreseeable future.

However, several TDAG members continue to work on projects in progress including Trees, Planning and Development: A Guide for Delivery. Various TDAG members are also working at providing short video talks about key issues and these will be available on the website over the next few weeks.

Reporting on the Urban Forest Pavilion at Futurebuild 2020

The Urban Forest Pavilion, curated by the Trees and Design Action Group, provided a notable landmark at Futurebuild 2020. The workshop programme was very well received and several people attended more than one session. For interest the programme can be seen here.

We can say with confidence that our aim of raising awareness in urban trees in the built environment and the critical need to collaborate for success was achieved.

We look forward to furthering this progress in 2021!

Now available: First Steps in Valuing Trees and Green Infrastructure

Many tools and methods are now available for valuing trees and other green infrastructure assets. How do they compare? Can they all be used for the same purpose? Can the use of valuation really help achieve better decision-making on environmental assets?

This short guide produced in partnership with the Birmingham Institute of Forest Research (BIFoR) and the School of Geography, Earth, and Environmental Science of the University of Birmingham aims to provide some basic, accessible answers.

It introduces the scenarios where valuation can be used as a mechanism to deliver a positive change in the way that policy, investment, design and management decisions affect environmental assets. It provides a range of tips and questions to consider when embarking on a valuation project, explains the applicability, strengths and limitations of some of the main valuation tools available in the UK, and offers some case studies illustrating good practice.

The guide is free to download. Share it widely!

New data reveals the power of big trees, and the impact of tree management on the benefits we derive from trees

Forest Research has compiled extensive datasets on tree benefits arising from UK-based i-Tree Eco studies together with literature from academic, industry, central and local government sources to investigate how ecosystems services provided by trees vary across 30 species commonly found in the urban landscape, and how management decisions further impact benefits derived.

Findings from this excellent work illustrate that management practices significantly influence ecosystem services delivery by urban forests through selection of the trees planted, how trees are maintained, and when and for what reasons trees are removed. This research also demonstrates that healthy large trees provide the greatest quantities of ecosystem services per tree, emphasising the importance of urban forest management that values and protects these trees.

This work is available in three separate publications by Forest Research:

Research Note: Understanding the role of urban tree management on ecosystem services, which provides an overview of the findings, summarising key figures presented in the two research reports listed below, while drawing clear conclusions on practical implications for urban tree management.

Research Report: Ecosystem services delivery by large stature urban trees reviews the provision of four ecosystem services by 12 large stature tree species using the i-Tree Eco model and compares the performance of trees in different age classifications and climate regions.

Research Report: Ecosystem services delivery by small and medium stature urban trees reviews the provision of four ecosystem services by 18 small and medium stature tree species using the i-Tree Eco model and compares the performance of these trees in different age groups.

Greater Lyon Tree Charter: a must-read!

The Greater Lyon Tree Charter is now available in English. The Charter was designed by the Greater Lyon Authority as a partnership-building tool to enhance the long-term management of trees across France's third largest city. It offers a set of common principles, together with a powerful rationale for action and a rich set of ideas for implementation for wide ranging audiences. So far, over 100 local and national stakeholders (including Greater Lyon's 59 boroughs, utility companies, the French equivalent of the UK's Landscape Institute, some tree nurseries, etc.) have signed the Charter, committing themselves to adhere to its Principles and to develop their own action plan for implementation. Both the approach and the recommendations featured in the Greater Lyon Tree Charter are highly relevant and directly applicable to the management of trees in towns and cities on this side of the Channel! Click here to download your copy.

...More News here!

Guides

Compiles accessible information and advice about the use of economic valuation approaches for trees and green infrastructure, which tool or method to choose and how to get started.

Provides clear, robust information together with a decision-making tool to enable appropriate tree species selection for a wide range of urban planting sites and aid the diversification of the urban forest.

Compiles the basics built environment professionals need to know about urban air quality and how urban infrastructure design – including green infrastructure – determines where air pollution is produced, and how it disperses.

Explores the practical challenges and solutions to delivering trees in 21st century streets, civic spaces and surface car parks, detailing process, design and technical options.

Offers 12 principles of best practice for all those involved in local decision making to ensure that our 21st century towns and cities are underpinned by a 21st century approach to urban trees, for maximum economic, social and environmental returns.

Videos

We filmed international guest speakers Dr Kathleen Wolf and Björn Embrén at our June 2015 seminars.