Richmond Council are asking residents in the borough to help them to make sure the trees in the area survive.

You can do so either by signing up to be a tree waterer or Street Rep or by following the council's guidelines for tree watering newly planted trees during the hotter days:

• Use two watering cans (containing around 10 litres of water in total) per tree, ideally every two days.
• Half the water (about 5 litres) should be poured into the installed watering tube and half poured over the surface of the tree pit. This is best done in the evenings or early mornings, to reduce water loss through evaporation that is more likely during the day.
• Where possible, we encourage the use of collected rainwater and grey water (for example bath or washing up water – water containing soap isn't a problem).

The council have asked residents to speak to their neighbours to help coordinate watering and avoid overwatering.

A Richmond Council spokesperson said: "In Richmond upon Thames, we're fortunate to be surrounded by thousands of beautiful trees that provide immense benefits to our communities, from improving our air quality and shading us during the hot months, to boosting physical and mental wellbeing through a connection to nature.

During the most recent planting season alone, over 800 trees were planted within our highways, parks and open spaces."

They continued: "It is essential that our young trees are supported to thrive during the hot, dry months, as the number one cause of tree mortality for street trees in England is lack of water. This is much more likely to happen with support from the whole community, and that's where Friends of Street Trees comes in."

Find out more about how you can help keep the trees in your area healthy here.