Hounslow's innovative tree-mapping website Greentalk will be in the spotlight at the upcoming Urban Tree Festival.

The international celebration of the beauty and benefits of trees in our towns and cities starts this Saturday (May 14) and runs until Sunday, 22 May, during which time tree-themed events, activities, workshops and seminars are taking place across the country and in Europe. 

On Monday, members of Hounslow Council's Climate Change and Green Recovery Team will take part in a special online presentation entitled: Trees and Hounslow Council's Response to Climate Change.

The hour-long session will highlight the Council's work since declaring a Climate Emergency in 2019 and examine how the Greentalk website is raising awareness of the important role trees play to preserve habitats, encourage biodiversity and combat climate change across the borough.

Hounslow Greentalk helps residents discover the borough's urban forest through an interactive map which details locations and information about the borough's 123,000 trees on streets, housing estates, parks and open spaces. 

Visitors to the site can plan walking routes around Hounslow, taking in some of the fantastic trees along the way. 

Greentalk also acts as a one-stop-shop for green issues in the borough. It promotes community work, offers help and information with caring for trees and has recently launched the borough's own Adopt a Tree scheme. 

Hounslow Council's Director of Environment, Culture and Customer Service, Victoria Lawson, said: "Trees are a really important part of life in Hounslow and we know how important they are in inspiring people and helping us all to create a cleaner, greener and healthier borough.

"As a Council, we have pledged to plant a tree for every child born in our borough each year and we recently gave away 500 trees to residents to plant in their gardens.

"There is still much work to do if we are to meet our Climate Change ambitions and trees will play an important role.

"We're delighted to be part of the Urban Tree Festival and to showcase what we have achieved so far."

• Trees and Hounslow Council's Response to Climate Change starts at noon on Monday, 16 May. It is a free event and everyone is invited to join. You can book a place here.
• There are lots of other Urban Tree Festival events taking place across London. Find out more here.