Trainees are sought to survey the benefits of trees around Deal.

Deal Town Council has teamed up with specialists Treeconomics who will show the volunteers how to survey plots using the i-Tree Eco software.

This analyses how much carbon dioxide and pollution trees filter from the air. It also measures how much our trees help us avoid carbon emissions and stormwater runoff, and more.

The authority has 25 trainees made up of councillors from Deal, Sholden and Walmer parishes and the district council as well as from members of local community groups including The Deal Society, Deal With It, East Kent Climate Action, Friends of North Deal, Kingsdown Conservation Group and Mill Hill Community Forum.

Each plot is an 11m diameter circle and there are 250 mapped across the area.

A town council spokesman said: "Despite the many benefits that our trees provide, they are still an undervalued resource.

"In the minds of many, they are seen as a risk, or even a nuisance, rather than an asset.

"There is a lot of work to be done to convey the true value of trees..."

"Trees require maintenance and they require care, and there is a cost attached to this. However, the benefits they provide far outweigh this cost.

"There is a lot of work to be done to convey the true value of trees and this is what Deal Town Council is working to do, promoting the benefits and value of our trees."

Chairwoman of the town council's environment committee, Cllr Christine Oliver said: “Trees are great at improving air quality, absorbing carbon, protecting our watercourses, saving energy, and for adding aesthetic value.

"They help improve our mental health, provide pleasant areas for us to walk and sit, and for our children to play.

"This work will enable us all to plant the right trees in the right places. Given the right care, our trees really can transform our urban environments and make them more sustainable.”

The virtual training will take place later in July and surveying in August with the aim of being completed by the end of summer.

To get a free place on the tree surveying training, please email deal.town.council@deal.gov.uk

Read more: All the latest news from Deal