Will Chiswick’s young trees survive a fourth heatwave?
From The Chiswick Calendar - July 28, 2026/by Juliet McDonald:Trees play a part in mitigating climate change, but they are also directly affected by itIt will take more than the strategies of two councils – Hounslow and Ealing – to take care of our trees as temperatures soarDuring the recent hot weather, our trees have never been so appreciated and, at the same time, ignored.In the High Road you can walk under the shady protective canopy of one ancient Plane tree after another.Yet in other roads, younger trees could be dying.Seek out any newly planted trees in a heat wave and you’ll see limp leaves and dry soil. How often is the council watering? In frustration, a few concerned residents may take to watering a wilted sapling immediately outside their property, but how many people can say that they’ve watered a street tree?Or perhaps gone further still – say up to 50 steps – to save a different tree?Young trees are under stressIn a recent Chiswick WhatsApp group, there were so many posts about the perception of poorly looked after street trees that the episode was named ‘Treegate’. But the question is what are we going to do about it?For many people, nothing – just complain. Surely, it’s the job of councils to maintain the trees that they plant? After all, residents pay their council tax. The issue is a divisive one.https://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/will-chiswicks-young-trees-survive-a-fourth-heatwave/?mc_cid=d57bdd4cd6
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