Grants of between £250 and £2,500 are available to a range of not-for-profit organisations, including town and parish councils, for tree planting projects across the UK. Project proposals should assist schools and community groups with tree and hedge planting initiatives that involve and educate children and young people aged 21 and under.
Projects can take place at any time during the 2026/27 planting season, which falls from mid-November 2026 to mid-March 2027 (grants must be claimed by Sunday 14 March 2027). Please note that grants are awarded once the project has been completed, so applicants must have sufficient resources in place to fully fund their project).
Branching Out grants can be used for:
- Buying trees, including fruit trees, and hedges, and/or
- Reasonable costs of non-plastic protection and supports such as canes/stakes or ties, mulch, mulching mats and peat-free compost or soil improvers.
Applicants are encouraged to plant a wide variety of species to aid resilience. Preference will be given to projects which are planned with specific and special emphasis on wildlife and biodiversity. Non-native species can be considered where appropriate.
Grants of between £250 and £2,500 are available with no matched funding requirement. Projects that have a total cost of more than £2,500 are advised to contact the Tree Council to discuss their proposal.
Applications for a grant of under £500 are normally assessed more quickly than requests for between £501 and £2,500.
Grants can be used for:
- Bare root, UK-sourced and grown, native trees of an appropriate size (priority will be given to younger trees that will establish better).
- Cardboard/bioplastic tree/hedge guards
- Hedgerow trees
- Mulch
- Non-peat-based soil improvers if needed
- Non-plastic tree ties
- Orchards, such as fruit trees on semi-vigorous, vigorous, and very vigorous rootstocks
- Stakes (coppiced material such as chestnut or hazel is preferred, although machined softwood will also be considered), and
- UK-sourced and grown, bare-root whips (saplings) and cell grown (root trainer) stock for hedging projects (between 40-120cm height).
Grants may also be available for:
- Fruit trees on dwarfing rootstock, if the setting is appropriate.
- More robust and costly guards if the setting justifies it, eg near a sports field or for street trees.
- Non-native tree varieties if appropriate to the setting (for example, urban/rural etc).
- Non-native varieties and species that are chosen to take into account climate change adaptation and resilience, and
- Trees in containers/raised beds if the reason is adequately explained and supported by a robust and comprehensive irrigation and aftercare plan.
The deadline for applications is midnight on Sunday 19 July 2026.
Further information, guidance and an online application form is available on the Tree Council's website.