Tree planting with Friends of Lewes

Since 2014, The Friends of Lewes’ Arboretum Project has been working to support and expand Lewes town’s rich but relatively small tree population. To date, we’ve planted over 130 mature street trees and almost 2,000 whips as hedges, says Audrey Jarvis.

Recent planting

Our 2022 tree planting season began (at last) on Sunday 20 November, planting 12 trees on verges and open spaces on Fitzgerald Road, Queen’s Road, Barn Road and Prince Charles Road, including Whitebeams, Alders, a Tulip tree, an Amelanchier and an ornamental Pear. These trees have been funded by a very welcome donation from the Rotary Club of Lewes as their contribution to the Queen’s Green Canopy. They were chosen for their biodiversity and ecosystem values, resilience, and chalk tolerance.

What’s next

We plan to plant a further 33 trees in the Wallands, Winterbourne and Landport areas. We are grateful to Lewes District Council and East Sussex County Council officers who gave us planting permissions, supplied the service maps of underground utilities, and included us in their Local Authorities Treescapes Fund grant, which will pay for 20 of the 45 trees we are planting this season.

Many of our tree-planting sites have been suggested by Lewes residents. So if you have an idea for a site, please email us at