The Woodland Trust Scotland is prioritising urban planting in areas where trees can have the biggest impact on health and wellbeing. Decisions are being guided by Tree Equity Score UK, a mapping tool that highlights communities most in need of tree cover. The tool considers factors such as health, deprivation, air quality, urban heat, and existing tree canopy to assign a score to each urban neighbourhood. Hawick tree equity map (Image: Woodland Trust)Currently, just 12 per cent of people living in Scotland's urban areas have what is considered adequate tree cover. The national average stands at 18.8 per cent, but nearly a third of urban areas have less than 10 per cent canopy coverage.