Community forests and urban tree planting programmes create wildlife habitat in otherwise inhospitable urban environments, supporting animal welfare for dozens of species that depend on urban tree cover.
Urban trees provide welfare benefits for wildlife species including bats, nesting birds and invertebrates that might otherwise have no suitable habitat in built-up areas. The welfare value of mature urban trees is disproportionate to their number — a single large tree provides exponentially more habitat than multiple small trees. Urban tree loss through development, disease and inappropriate management causes welfare harm to dependent species. Environmental justice dimensions are also important: communities with less tree cover have less access to the mental health and wellbeing benefits that come from contact with wildlife.