New tree-sponsorship scheme launches in Adur and Worthing
Released: Thursday, 02 July 2026
Residents, community groups and businesses are being invited to help make Adur and Worthing greener by sponsoring trees through a new council-run scheme.
We have launched the initiative to make it easy for people to fund tree planting in their neighbourhoods, parks and open spaces while supporting nature and enhancing urban environments.
For a sponsorship donation, supporters can fund the planting of a five to seven-year-old 'instant impact' tree, typically standing between three and four metres tall, in a street or green space of their choice, subject to approval.
Street tree sponsorship costs £300, while a tree in a council-managed green space costs £450 to cover the additional costs of watering the tree. There are 50 sponsorship opportunities available this year, 25 in Adur and 25 in Worthing.
Sponsorship includes a carefully-selected tree suitable for the chosen location, all necessary planting materials, professional planting by our parks team and guidance on caring for the tree. Sponsors of street trees will be responsible for regularly watering their trees, while those planted in parks will be watered by the councils.
The new scheme builds on the success of the Trees for Streets programme in Worthing, which by the end of its contract in 2026 has seen more than 150 community-sponsored trees planted across the town in just three years.
It has enabled residents, community groups and businesses to sponsor trees that provide immediate visual and environmental benefits. One of its most visible successes can be seen along Sompting Road and Sompting Avenue, where dozens of new trees were planted following a donation from developer Roffey Homes.
With the Trees for Streets partnership coming to an end, we have brought the scheme in-house, building on its success in Worthing while extending it to communities across Adur for the first time. The new model better supports our wider environmental ambitions while making it easier for the whole area to get involved.
The tree-sponsorship scheme forms part of a wider commitment to protecting and expanding the area's tree canopy through our new tree planting policy. It sets out a coordinated approach to protecting existing trees while increasing planting across Adur and Worthing, with a particular focus on urban areas where additional shade, cooling, biodiversity and greener public spaces can have the greatest impact.
Alongside planting new trees, we will continue to manage our existing stock of around 17,000 individual trees, as well as all the trees located within our woodlands, including responding to challenges such as ash dieback, which has resulted in the loss of hundreds of trees from local woodland.
Trees play a vital role in tackling climate change and supporting healthier communities by absorbing carbon dioxide, improving air quality, reducing urban temperatures, managing rainwater and providing valuable habitats for wildlife.
Councillor Andy Harvey, Adur's cabinet member for the environment, said:
“For the first time, people in Sompting, Lancing, Shoreham, Southwick and Fishersgate will have the opportunity to sponsor a tree with us in their own neighbourhood.
“Trees provide shade on hot days, improve air quality, support wildlife, capture carbon and make our streets and parks more attractive places to spend time. We've seen what a success the scheme has been in Worthing, and I'm delighted that our communities across Adur can now play a similar role in creating greener, healthier places to live.”
Councillor Martin McCabe, Worthing's cabinet member for the environment, said:
“This new sponsorship scheme gives residents, businesses and community groups the opportunity to leave a lasting legacy by helping us plant more trees where they'll have the greatest benefit.
“By bringing the scheme in-house, we're building on what we've learned and making it easier for communities across the whole of Adur and Worthing to get involved.”
The programme also supports our Vision for Nature, adopted last October, which sets out plans to restore, protect and better connect natural spaces across the area, from parks and recreation grounds to chalk grassland, waterways and the Adur Estuary.
To find out more about the tree sponsorship scheme, see:
Photos: Trees planted by the councils' parks team in Upper Shoreham Road, Shoreham, and one of the Roffey Homes sponsored trees in Sompting Avenue, Worthing
Photos: The councils' parks team planting street trees
(PR26-056)
Page last updated: 03 July 2026