Cardiff is the first Welsh city to be named a Tree City of the World in recognition of Cardiff Council's Coed Caerdydd tree-planting programme which aims to increase tree canopy cover in the city to 25% by 2030.

The Tree Cities of the world programme, founded by non-profit conservation and education organisation, the Arbor Day Foundation, aims to create more green spaces in urban areas by recognising cities that do it well.

Cabinet Member for Culture, Parks and Events, Cllr Jennifer Burke-Davies, said: "20,000 trees have already been planted across the city in the first 6 months of our ambitious tree-planting programme plan and with the help of our amazing army of volunteers, the plan is to plant many more over the coming years.

"As those trees grow they'll play an important role, not just in soaking up Cardiff's carbon emissions, but also helping clean the air we all breathe, providing important habitats for nature and making the city a greener place to live."

Arbor Day Foundation Chief Executive, Dan Lambe, said: "Each year the Tree Cities of the World programme grows and adds another set of incredible cities around the world. Every single city recognised as a Tree City of the World has done a fantastic job of making urban forestry a main focus of its community. Through this recognition cities all across the world will join like-minded communities who recognise the importance of planting trees to contribute to their urban tree canopy."

Coed Caerdydd in numbers

In its first 6-month planting season the project has:

• planted 16,000 trees across eight hectares of land (the equivalent of approximately 11.2 football pitches) with a further 4,000 trees planted as part of the council's mainstream annual planting programme.
• worked with over 750 volunteers
• planted one kilometre of native hedgerow
• planted two sites with fruit and nut trees to create community orchards
• planted five ‘wet woodland' sites and six verges/streets
• donated 750 trees to schools, community groups and residents