Who we are
Birmingham TreePeople started life as a Tree Warden Network, set up by the Tree Officers of Birmingham City Council in 2016 to support better trees in Birmingham. After numbers grew, the volunteer Tree Wardens created the charity and by 2020 we had our first board of trustees and were hosting regular activities.
Birmingham TreePeople is now separate from the city council but works in partnership with them as well as many other organisations to meet our charitable aims.
In 2024 we were awarded significant funding from the National Lottery Community Fund which enabled us to transition from a volunteer-led organisation to an employee-led charity with a board of trustees who support our work.
What we do
Plant, establish and care for trees
We plant between 50-200 new trees in the city each year, working in partnership with land owners and land managers. We also care for these newly planted trees through our care team who regularly water and maintain these young trees. We focus on greater tree equity, planting trees in areas of city with low canopy cover.
Data collection and analysis
We have a funded programme of activity around data collection and have a team of people surveying newly planted street trees to better understand how they are performing and what factors may affect their ability to thrive. To date, we’ve surveyed over 3,000 trees in the city.
Work directly with communities
We have a programme of activity that puts communities at the heart of decision making for their neighbourhoods. We use co-production techniques to support individuals and groups to make decisions about species and location selection, engagement workshops and aftercare.
Advocate for better trees and more of them
We use our experience and data to push for changes in the way we establish trees in the city. We focus on species diversity, hyper-local tree equity, climate change resilience and aftercare to help produce better trees and a stronger, more complex and adaptable urban forest.
Staff team
Matthew Cox
Matthew (he/him) is the Operations Manager for the charity. He’s a gardener and community activist with an early career in design and woodworking. He’s been an outdoors person from a young age with a love for the natural world and a fascination with the cycles of ecosystems.
He gained an MSc in Biodiversity, Wildlife and Ecosystem Health from the The University of Edinburgh in 2019 and since then has been working with urban green spaces and communities in underserved areas of the city.
Matt’s work has centred around how communities can take a more active role in improving, nurturing and advocating for more and better green space within the built environment whilst harnessing the power of plants (and the wider biodiversity) to tackle social and environmental injustice and inherited pollution.
Matt@birminghamtreepeople.org.uk
Katy Hawkins
Katy Hawkins (she/they) is the Community lead for the charity, working to co-produce community tree establishment programmes in areas of low tree equity, with a focus on supporting communities to shape work and centring the relationship we have with trees as part of the process.
Their background spans working in participatory urban planning, supporting stakeholder-led urban change processes (London); design and delivery of socially engaged arts programmes focused on exploring and deepening connections to urban green spaces (Peterborough and West Midlands); and leading on research-led tree walkshops (UK).
They undertook a Masters of Research in Interdisciplinary Urban Design (UCL) following an Undergraduate in Art History (Goldsmiths) and they are an alumni to the Clore Emerging Leaders in Forestry Programme (2024 – 2025).
Katy@birminghamtreepeople.org.uk
Board of Trustees
Deanne Brettle
Deanne Brettle worked as a Primary School Forest School Leader for 10 years. She spent regular time in a small patch of woodland, experiencing all the seasons and actively managing the land. Playing alongside the children, she remembers fondly. She currently works for the University of Birmingham’s Institute of Forest Research as a Project Officer.
Dee has been a Trustee since 2022. She became a volunteer when they called to action for a citizen science project, surveying newly planted street trees. She has recently enjoyed working on a project to digitise the tree trails in parks using TreePlotter. Dee hopes it will get more people to ‘see’ trees, and experience the same awe and wonder she does.
Dee is now the Birmingham TreePeople Chair, working on a global urban forestry project called CARMINE, whilst studying for her PhD in trees with University of Birmingham!
Nina Griffths
Nina Griffith’s deeper interest in trees emerged from attending volunteer conservation sessions with the Friends of Manor Farm Park, Northfield. She joined Birmingham TreePeople as an urban forest volunteer in 2018, and has thoroughly enjoyed the journey so far. With the training received over the last few years, she has used the newfound knowledge in her community.
She took over the maintenance of the neglected Community Orchard at Manor Farm Park. Nina regularly imparts knowledge to other volunteers, regarding the maintenance and care of the orchard. She shares the responsibility of maintaining and caring for the trees around the her allotment plot at Harborne Lane.
Nina also provides advice and training to various Friends groups, such as Bournville Park and Manor Farm Park, in the care of existing and newly planted trees. She has led many tree walks at the local park. She is currently studying the Level 2 Arboriculture course through BTP, learning even more about trees!
Nina was asked to join Birmingham TreePeople as a Trustee in February 2021. She is currently the Trustee Coordinator for the Street Tree Survey, on behalf of Birmingham City Council and Kier. Her role involves training and assisting volunteers in the art of tree surveying.
James Tucker
Professor of Supramolecular Chemistry at University of Birmingham, James (Jim) Tucker is a recent addition to the board of the TreePeople. He has a long history of community engagement across the city, and is a steadfast champion of trees and nature.
Jim has been the lead for The Zephaniah Forest planning team, helping to navigate the project with other Trustees and the employees, to ensure the legacy vision for Benjamin was carried out in Burbury Park, with the Benjamin Zephaniah Family Legacy Group.
Sam Dobbie
Sam joined the BTP board in 2024.
Julianne Statham
Juliane Statham is a fairly recent member of the board, and qualified through our L2 Arboriculture training programme. She has involved herself in all aspects of the TreePeople and is a great asset, taking over the responsibility of the Treemembrance Programme. This is the memorial tree planting programme for the city, providing commemorative trees for groups and individuals.
Julianne regularly supports other Trustees and the BTP employees at events, providing fantastic photos and captions, fully immersing herself in every experience at a tree-related event. Her passion and dedication really shines through with every knew thing she learns.
Lawrence Weston
Lawrence is an early career Tree Person, and new entrant into the sector. In his day job, Lawrence is a grower of organic fruit and veg, with an interest in top fruit, particularly apples! He moonlights as a hedgelayer, and is pursuing a range of practical arboricultural training.
A graduate from the University of Birmingham, Lawrence completed the BTP Level 2 Arboriculture training programme, alongside a number of the other Trustees. He originally became involved with the TreePeople in 2020, as a volunteer street tree surveyor in Selly Oak, whilst in his final year of university. He encourages others to sign up to be an Urban Forest Volunteer and immerse themselves in the world of trees!
As our youngest Trustee, Lawrence is now heading the Orchard Programme, bringing community orchards to new areas, as well as grafting and pruning sessions, making sure these community assets remain flawless.
Tonia Clark
Principal Finance and Bids Officer, Birmingham City Council, Tonia Clark is the past Chair of Birmingham TreePeople, and has been involved from the very early days. Tonia was one of the first volunteers to complete the L2 Arboriculture course. She now delivers training and talks about trees at partnership events regularly.
Tonia is a bit of a tree hugger and loves learning about trees. She wishes that more people in Birmingham lived in tree lined streets and near tree-filled open spaces, and she’s doing what she can to make this a reality. She is now studying a Masters in trees!
Trusted friends
Ian McDermott
Ian (Mac) McDermott began work in Horticulture and Arboriculture in 1976. His first job was with a local company before going back to college. He has worked in all sectors of the Arboricultural and Urban Forestry industry, serving at a high level for both the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA), and the Municipal Tree Officers Association (MTOA). He holds the Professional Diploma in Arboriculture and is a Chartered Horticulturist.
Ian took early retirement from Local Authority in 2014, and then worked as an Arboricultural trainer and lecturer, having worked for a number of land-based colleges teaching Level 6 Arboriculture. Most of his time was spent training volunteers to work with municipalities in managing the Urban Forest, and was heavily involved in Tree Warden schemes across the Midlands region. He delivered the BTP training package, the ABC Level 2 in Arboriculture, amongst others, during his time as a Trustee.
Past projects include managing one of the largest iTree projects in the UK, consultancy work in the planning sector, and involvement with the UNECE panel of experts. A strong advocate of community engagement in the management of Municipal trees, Mac served on several charity boards and Friends groups. He now lives in the Isle of Man, training a next generation of Tree Officer.
Simon Needle
Simon Needle has worked for Birmingham City Council since 2014, having gained extensive training and knowledge in the field of Arboriculture in the years previous, and following.
He has held the position of Principle Ecologist, providing ecological and biodiversity advice and guidance across all departments, but primarily for planning. He also contributed towards policy and strategy documents, HS2 consultation input, SuDS design document, and regeneration master-plans.
Moving onto become the council’s Principle Arboriculturalist, he dealt with TPO’s, tree works in Conservation Areas, and Planning Applications. He contributed towards strategy and policy documents, providing arboricultural advice across the directorates.
He was the Strategic Lead for Urban Forestry and Nature, leading on implementation of Birmingham’s Urban Forest Master-plan, development and implementation of Biodiversity Net Gain policy, and Climate Adaptation through Nature Based Solutions.
Steve Watson
Steve Watson has a career background in engineering, industrial ceramics and remuneration consulting. As the Treasurer, he monitors the movement of money, amongst several other behind the scenes activities. He supports the urban forest volunteers during workshops and events.
Steve would like BTP to have a representative nominated for each Ward to support residents, Tree Officers, Councillors, and MP’s. His future aspirations for the organisation are the continuation of significant contributions BTP have begun to make, improving the management of Birmingham’s urban forest.