Bath and NE Somerset residents are being urged to put on their gardening gloves to plant more trees during National Tree Week which is running from until Tuesday 5 December.

The call to action comes from Mayor Dan Norris who is encouraging locals to link up with green fingered charities across the West of England.

Mayor Norris says locals can contact groups including Avon Needs Trees and the Forest of Avon Trust for information on projects happening locally, and for top tips on how, when and which types of trees to plant. Free trees are also available for community groups from The Conservation Volunteers' 'I dig trees' campaign and The Woodland Trust for schools campaign.

Recognising the benefits of trees, one of the Mayor's first acts was to pledge to double the West of England's woodland cover by 2050. Since then he has been instrumental in the planting of the Great Avon Wood which is becoming the biggest new wood in the West of England.

However there is a huge amount to do especially as 16% of the region's trees are Ash which are suffering from the invasive disease of Ash dieback.

Trees are vital to capture and store carbon when it enters the atmosphere and to help tackle the climate emergency. Plus, they provide food and shelter for wildlife, like the region's bees, moths, damselflies and other pollinator pals, and they're also great for people's health wellbeing by providing wonderful scenery to enjoy across the West's communities.

Mr Norris, said: "Trees play a vital role in the West of England - not least in terms of taking dirty carbon emissions out of the atmosphere and providing nature with a home. In short they're tree-mendous.

"That's why I've set a really ambitious target for tree planting and we're making really good progress but we need the help of people right across Bath and NE Somerset.

"So I would encourage everyone in Bath and NE Somerset to get their boots on, get the brolly out and come and get involved in all kinds of tree planting events that help to tackle climate change all year round."