How to Adopt a Tree in the U.K.

Adopting a tree is a perfect way to remember any occasion, whether your daughter’s birth or your son’s wedding day. Perhaps you’d like to honor a departed loved one through a beautiful symbol of life and longevity. A tree requires minimal care but its environment must be looked after--that’s why adopting a tree also benefits those who tend to its growth. In the U.K., adopting a tree is a great way to give back to your community through the environmental organizations who look after our leafy friends.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Investigate online. Because this task requires you to select a charity in addition to placing a memorial, it’s up to you to decide which you want to benefit. You can also explore the level of involvement each programs requires. You should look at organizations' websites (see Resources below), read reviews and consider the charity's beneficiaries to match your motives with an appropriate program. Are you a hands-on conservationist? Look for a program with community involvement, perhaps one that allows you to plant your own tree. Want to remember a family member who's passed on? Donate in her memory to a protected forest, where her tree will be specially marked.If you aren't sure who to contact to adopt a tree locally, try your local government's directory. This can point you in the right direction, whether it's a community garden or the parks and recreation department.

2. Call or email the “adopt a tree” organization of your choice to learn about the program’s requirements. Depending on the purpose of the program, some “adopt a tree” organizations encourage the patron to not only plant a tree in his community, but commit to watering it and weeding its bed. Others only ask for a monetary investment (some ongoing, some not) to name an already living tree in your honor in order to protect its environment or species. Every organization should list a contact phone number or email address on its website.

3. Visit the tree’s location. Not only is it nice to make friends with the forestry staff who will look after your gift, but a visit will allow you to see your tree (or its potential spot) and feel closer to it--especially if it’s a memorial. Many agencies will place a plaque next to the plant and record your contribution in a public registry. You may also want to pick a special species to plant.

4. Follow up on the tree’s progress (and encourage its honoree to do the same). An adopted tree is a valued lifetime investment.

Tips & Warnings

• Contribute well. Adopting a tree is as much a commitment to the plant’s honoree as to your community’s environmental welfare. The “adopt a tree” agency you choose will appreciate a patron who goes the extra mile to care for the community, so don’t hesitate to ask what the agency might need in a addition to a monetary donation--perhaps they’re running low on gardening gloves or seedlings before spring.
• If you're able to visit your adopted tree, bring along a camera. Not only will you have something to remember it by, but you can also take photos of the tree's growth over an extended time period. This is also a fun way for kids to learn about how trees grow and change.

Resources

• Kew Royal Botanical Gardens allows patrons to sponsor a “heritage tree” to commemorate a loved one’s life.
• Kew at Castle Howard is an extensive 127-acre arboretum in North Yorkshire, England.
• In Waltham Forest you can choose where you want your adopted tree planted in the community.
• The London Borough of Richmond Upon Thames has a hands-on “adopt a tree” scheme.
• Cashel, the “forest for a thousand years” in Scotland, has a tree-sponsoring program.