South West Water Plants 390,000 Trees Across Devon and Cornwall to Improve Water Quality and Combat Climate Change

Ambitious Target Smashed Five Years Ahead of Schedule

South West Water has planted 390,000 trees across Devon and Cornwall—nearly 100,000 more than its original goal—five years ahead of its 2025 target.

The tree planting forms part of the company’s wider environmental work to combat climate change, improve water quality, reduce flood risk and support wildlife across the region.

Cleaner Water, Slower Flooding, More Wildlife

The trees create natural woodland habitat and bring a host of benefits:

• Acting as natural filters to improve water quality

• Preventing soil erosion and pesticide run-off

• Slowing down the flow of water to reduce flooding risk

• Providing food and shelter for wildlife

Much of the work has taken place under South West Water’s Upstream Thinking programme, which takes a proactive, long-term approach to water management by supporting nature to deliver cleaner, more resilient water supplies.

Tree Planting with Local Partners

A key partner in delivering the project has been Devon Wildlife Trust, which supplied 45,729 native trees—such as blackthorn, hazel and oak—for farms and landowners across the region. These trees help reduce surface run-off and boost natural water quality.

David Smith, Natural Resources Team Manager at South West Water, said:

“Trees are amazing as they act like natural filters and prevent flooding by absorbing water.

Our tree planting efforts help ensure slower and cleaner flows into rivers and our Upstream Thinking programme is proud to work with other partners in all the catchments we operate in. We’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who helped us to achieve, and exceed, the five-year planting target.”

Emma Richardson, Director of Nature Based Solutions at Devon Wildlife Trust, added:

“We are so pleased to be delivery partners on South West Water’s Upstream Thinking programme and for their support in delivering this important project to improve water quality and resilient water resources, along with the environmental benefits this brings for wildlife and people.

We work closely with the Woodland Trust to be able to plant trees across our river catchments to make our rivers and streams healthier and climate resilient.”

Next Target: 300,000 More Trees by 2030

Looking ahead, South West Water has now committed to planting a further 300,000 trees between 2025 and 2030, continuing its work to improve the region’s environment and water resilience.

Current delivery partners for the Upstream Thinking programme include Cornwall Wildlife Trust, Devon Wildlife Trust, Westcountry Rivers Trust, and the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group.