Avon Needs Trees is celebrating a major milestone in its Nature is Lush campaign with four of the six candidates to become the West of England Metro Mayor now publicly committing to support nature if elected.

Helen Godwin, Oli Henman, Mary Page and Steve Smith have all visited the Lower Chew Forest, the largest new woodland in the South West for a generation, to hear firsthand about the campaign’s goals. Each has now issued formal responses to an open letter from Avon Needs Trees, expressing clear intentions to support nature across the region if elected on May 1.

Full details of the candidates' responses can be viewed at https://avonneedstrees.org.uk/candidates-respond-to-nature-is-lush/.

These responses represent a major success for the campaign, which gathered over 1,000 signatures and drew support from business, cultural and environmental organisations across the West of England. Individuals including Chris Packham, Dr Mya-Rose Craig and Deborah Meaden also threw their weight behind the charity’s calls to action. The candidates' commitments mark a significant step forward in ensuring that nature and climate remain central to regional decision-making.

Tom Le Fanu, of Avon Needs Trees, said:“We launched Nature is Lush to push nature up the political agenda, and the responses from candidates show that message has landed. With these commitments now public, voters can weigh up these responses and go to the polls knowing nature is firmly on the table.”

The vote is likely to be extremely close between all five parties, with voter turnout low. The charity is urging voters to head to the polls on Thursday, May 1, to ensure nature has a voice in this election.

For further information or media inquiries, Alex Turner can be contacted at [email protected] for additional details or assistance.