A new report studying nature recovery in Scotland, carried out by the Woodland Trust, aims to show how wood and trees can drive nature recovery to the benefit of the nation's population.

The section on Restoring our Towns and Cities highlights the 3-30-300 rule increasingly being adopted by cities across Europe. It has tree equity at its heart and is a simple, evidence-based standard for assessing whether there is sufficient quantity and distribution of urban forest. 

The rule means every citizen:

• should be able to see at least three mature trees from where they live and work
• there should be a minimum of 30% tree canopy cover in every neighbourhood
• no one should be more than 300m from their nearest park or greenspace where they can experience nature.

The paper set out a list of ‘practical and achievable actions’ needed to ensure that thriving native woods and trees contribute to Scotland’s nature recovery. For urban towns and cities the vision is:

Scotland’s towns and cities are rich in woods and trees; helping nature to thrive, increasing our climate resilience and supporting the health and wellbeing of Scotland’s people. The urban forest is given the priority and investment needed to achieve tree equity for everyone and reach the 3-30-300 standard so that everyone benefits from trees, regardless of where they live or their socio-economic status.