Planting 5,000 trees in London in memory of Arthur

Arthur was many things - kind, smart, funny, quirky, thoughtful, inquisitive.  He was a loving husband, father, son and brother, and a friend who would always go out of his way to help those he met.  His generosity of spirit over his life will be long remembered, and in honour of that generosity, we are looking to create a worthy memorial for Arthur.

Arthur appreciated the uniqueness of the world around us, and often captured its beauty in his photography.  What's more he recognised the importance of maintaining and nurturing our delicate natural environment.  For example, he gifted trees as a present to mark special occasions.   He liked to say "The meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit".  And so we wanted Arthur's memorial to reflect Arthur himself, and to continue something he supported in his lifetime.  Our goal is to make a significant difference to the city that was his home and to create a permanent place of remembrance that will carry Arthur's memory forwards for decades to come.  Out target is to plant a commemorative woodland in west London of around 5,000 trees in Arthur's name.  That would be something like the area of a football field.

The importance of trees should not be underestimated: trees are a foundation for much of the natural world.  They not only clean and cool the air around us, but also support diverse wildlife and complex ecosystems.  Through absorbing up to 450 litres of water a day they can reduce flood risks, reduce erosion and increase soil quality.  As well as these environmental benefits, those of us that live in cities can feel how beneficial trees are to people - increasing contact and engagement with the natural world is shown to have a positive impact on health and well being.  Trees are a vital part of our ecosystem and important for the quality of lives now and in the future.

We are glad to have found a charity that thinks the same way - Trees for Cities (https://www.treesforcities.org/).  They have 25 years experience in planting trees in London and other cities.  They work with a wide variety of organisations from councils, schools and companies to  cultivate lasting change in their neighbourhoods – whether it’s revitalising forgotten spaces or creating healthier environments.  In 2019, they will plant their 1,000,000th tree!  From our discussions and based on their extensive experience delivering projects of this scale, Trees for Cities are confident that we can secure a site over the coming year. 

In due course, we look forward to having a communal event to help with the planting of the trees in which all his family, friends and colleagues will be welcome to participate. Once established, Arthur's memorial wood will be open to the public to enjoy.

To support this  project, we have received a generous offer of a matching "challenge grant"  from a charitable trust.  This will match all donations made up to a total of £25,000.  We have already received commitments from some individuals for £12,500 so we are well on the way.  In addition, the Government recently created the £10m Urban Tree Challenge Fund that will match selected, qualifying investments in trees planted in cities.   Depending on the details of the memorial site, and if the Trees for Cities application is successful, this could double again any donations.  Therefore a £100 donation will be worth £200 to the memorial, and perhaps £400! 

We hope that you will help support this project to create the Arthur White Memorial Wood.

With many thanks 

Jayne, Fraser, Elizabeth and all Arthur's family and friends

As a footnote, we know that many of you were generous enough to make donations to the National Forest as suggested at Arthur's funeral. That is fully in keeping with Arthur's wishes and this is intended as complementary, not as an additional request.