The National Trust is planting new woodlands across land in England equivalent to 800 football pitches this winter in partnership with local forest experts.
The charity said almost 416,000 trees will be planted by the end of March, creating 519 hectares (1,282 acres) of woody habitats, wood pasture, hedgerows and orchards.
England’s Community Forests, a network of 15 expert groups, is supporting the work with £7.1 million under its Trees for Climate programme, which is funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).
It comes as part of wider efforts to tackle climate change, boost nature and provide accessible woods to communities living in towns and cities.
A total of 20 planting projects are taking place on land mainly cared for by the National Trust in counties such as Devon, Gloucestershire and Yorkshire.
Lunt in Sefton, Merseyside, hosts the largest project, where work is under way to plant a nearly 93,000 trees across 78 hectares (192.7 acres) after the National Trust bought the land from the local council.
John Deakin, the National Trust’s head of trees and woodland, said: “We’ve found lots of natural synergy with the Community Forests in the way we approach woodland and tree establishment to give maximum value for people, nature and climate.
“Trees are our most powerful tool in locking up carbon and mitigating climate change.
“Working in partnership allows us to plant even more trees, restore more spaces for nature and store carbon on an even bigger scale.
“Meanwhile, with each new area of planting connecting with existing habitats plus extending the size of local Community Forest areas, we can ensure that more people have opportunities to connect with nature close to where they live, something we all need.”
More than 30,000 trees are being planted at Buckland Abbey in Devon, boosting woodland cover, extending hedgerows, restoring wood pasture and reinstating an orchard with heritage fruit, hazel and cobnut trees.
At Killerton, also in Devon, the National Trust is working to establish and restore 93 hectares (230 acres) of woodland and wood pasture with 69,000 trees as well as the planned addition of 6.9km of permissive paths plus improvements to existing muddy paths to improve public access.
And in Gloucestershire at Sherborne Farm on the Sherborne Park Estate, the charity is working in partnership with a tenant to plant 53,000 trees to create nature-friendly farmland.
Paul Nolan, chairman of England’s Community Forests and director of The Mersey Forest, said: “We’re really pleased to be working closely with the National Trust on woodland creation projects across the country.
“Increasing tree cover in our communities is vital for our health and wellbeing and to help us adapt to our changing climate, which is becoming more and more challenging.”
The National Trust said its work with England’s Community Forests directly contributes to its commitment to plant and establish 20 million trees by 2030.
The charity said it is also contributing towards the UK’s national target of achieving 16.5% tree and woodland cover in England by 2050, adding that tree planting rates increased in the last year by 52% on the previous year.
In addition to funding from England’s Community Forests Trees for Climate, some projects have received further donations from the National Trust’s Plant a Tree fund and HSBC UK.
Forestry minister Mary Creagh said: “This Government is committed to protecting and restoring nature, and trees are at the forefront of our plans to reduce emissions.
“We recently launched a dedicated Tree Planting Taskforce and have pledged up to £400 million for tree planting and peatland restoration over the current and next financial year.
“Alongside National Trust and our partners at England Community Forests, we are creating new woodlands that will bring communities and woodlands closer together for generations to come.”
