We know that woodland and sustainable forestry capture carbon alongside providing other major benefits such as creating animal habitats, shade, flood defences and places for reflection. Of course, as with all climate solutions, we also need to reduce emissions and keep fossil fuels in the ground.

Growing trees is one of three main recommendations from our Church Land and the Climate Crisis report, and our new resource includes several case studies – from the story of a local church that has planted fruit trees to a national Church which is investing in forestry. At Operation Noah, we want all parts of the Church to be growing trees, both on their own land and in partnership with others.

Our new four-page resource is available to download as a standard PDF or to print on A3 paper. In the months to come, we’ll also be releasing new resources on ways to protect peat – which stores enormous amounts of carbon – and how to support farmers to reduce their agricultural emissions. 

There’s a Chinese proverb which says, ‘The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The second best time is now.’ While technically that doesn’t hold true in the summer as there are better times of year to plant a tree, we’re now entering the tree-planting season in the UK which is generally considered to be October to March. However, it can take some planning to organise permission to plant in some places as well as to order free trees from charities like the Woodland Trust (which is currently taking orders for March 2025 delivery), so today is a good time to plan to plant a tree.

As we mark two decades of inspiring the Church to take action on the climate crisis, we’re also inviting Operation Noah supporters to plant a tree in celebration of our 20th anniversary. We know that other churches have planted trees to mark special occasions, including giving saplings to confirmation candidates or as a way of remembering loved ones. While these are all good ways to start, we must be more ambitious for the carbon sequestration we need. Have a look at how a local church team in Hungerford has planted thousands of trees in partnership with local landowners.

Growing trees is a great example of a climate solution with many benefits, but it can also be a great investment. Perhaps your regional or national church body could invest in sustainable forestry as part of a pledge to invest in climate solutions (check out our Green Investment Declaration here). 

We would like to invite you to download and share our new Growing Trees resource – with additional resources here – and to begin your tree-growing journey.