Will we see the wood for the trees?

Following on from a recent election based post - I was wondering if some of the, frankly massive, tree planting pledges being put forward by the various parties in the run up to the general election, are particularly realistic to achieve?

But first, let us go back a few years to see where the land lay....

The last pledge:

The government's last pledge on tree planting was 11 million trees a year in England. In 2016, Stuart Goodall, Chief Executive of the UK forestry industry body Confor, told the Environmental, Forestry & Rural Affairs committee in Westminster, that this target was most certainly achievable, but not with the current grant system in place at the time.

The target represented a shift in England to get from 10% tree cover, up to around 12% by 2060 - that is about 50,000 hectares a year. Goodall pointed out that the grant system was "overly complex and bureaucratic." It was felt that there had been a steady disconnect between policy and the realities of the timber industry over the previous 20 years.

Confor pointed to a number of new options that would be needed to get things going again. This would include ideas like productive mixed forestry being introduced in some areas of northern England where farmers were under pressure, and so something like this may be of interest. They also pointed to the out of date view of conifer planting being 'demonised' - without it, the timber industry would be facing major issues with sourcing supplies by the mid 2030's.

Then there was also a need for more experience in dealing with large scale schemes from the Forestry Commission and other such bodies, as many of them had not had to deal with such applications in many years. Sir William Worsley, Chairman of the National Forest for the East Midlands, said, "To look at hardwoods as being attractive and softwoods as unattractive and commercial is the wrong way to look at it. Well managed commercial forestry can be very beautiful."

The big pledges!

So since the last government targets were set, things have moved on at pace. Climate change is now front and centre on the agenda, in fact for some groups it will be the second or third most thing on their minds when voting this month.

The legislation in June of this year, making net-zero carbon emissions a legal commitment for the UK by 2050, meant that people (including those in power) suddenly had to give some thought on how to achieve this rather daunting target!

Step forward the humble tree! A thing of great beauty and of great importance for many ecosystems - now realised as a potential lifeline for achieving carbon emission reductions, through their ability to sequester CO2.

Oak Tree (photo: Wikimedia)

• Conservatives: pledging 30 million trees a year
• Lib Dems and SNP: both pledging to plant 60m a year
• Greens: they have gone for a pledge of 70m a year
• Labour: reckon they can plant 100m a year for the next 20 years. That's 2 billion more trees!

Now, there are some other issues around planting this number of trees, like can we provide enough nursery stock of suitable native trees to meet any of these demands? And where are such numbers going to be planted? Many sparsely populated areas, like say northern Scotland, actually don't necessarily need huge numbers of trees - northern Scotland would actually largely benefit from protecting and enhancing its peat bogs (another great CO2 sequesterer).

But lets just concentrate on the sheer numbers and not some of these other technicalities, that will have to be covered in great depth in the next few years, as one of these parties is actually going to have to try and enact what it has promised........ (or not)

The Labour party pledge represents planting a quarter of a million trees every day!

To put that in perspective, in the year to March 2019, 13,400ha was planted in the UK (11,200 of that was in Scotland). But there is some historic precedent of sorts, as in the 1980s we did manage to plant at a rate of around 30,000ha a year.

Depending on tree species, habitat, terrain etc., you can plant between 1,000 and 2,500 trees per hectare, so taking a reasonable average, that means 30,000ha would be covered by around 50 million trees.

The Woodland Trust say that things need to change fundamentally for large-scale planting to happen;

• More people need to get involved in planting - at national and local level, and in statutory bodies
• There needs to be a big boost in tree stocks
• There needs to be more money / grants for farmers and landowners to encourage them to plant trees
• Natural reforestation must be encouraged alongside planting

The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) has stated in its guidance that the UK needs a net gain of 32,000ha of trees per year for 30 years to help hit the net-zero emissions target by 2050. That is 1.5 billion trees. That would see the overall tree coverage for the UK going from 13% to 17% in that time - but that compares with an EU average of 35% tree cover.

Confor has analysed the tree planting pledges of the main parties - here is a little of what it has said on the four main national parties; 

Conifer forest (photo: Wikimedia)

• Conservatives: they need to do much more to meet the targets. It points out that they failed to reach the last, much more modest target, of 11m trees a year over 5 years.
• Labour: they need big leadership commitments to make any progress on such a target. Confor likes the recognition Labour have given to what the forestry / timber industries can do to help meet their green jobs pledge.
• Lib Dems: their targets are in line with what Confor have been suggesting is needed, but Confor say that their processes will need to be much improved. They also like the commitment to use more timber in house construction. Their position could be interesting if they end up holding a balance of power after the election.
• Greens: their targets, like the Lib Dems, line up with Confor ambitions, and will need similar overhaul of current processes. They also like their emphasis on integration between farming and forestry.

Research:

https://www.confor.org.uk/news/latest-news/ge2019-tree-planting-pledges-analysed/ 

http://www.confor.org.uk/news/latest-news/planting-targets-achievable-but-grant-system-not-fit-for-purpose/ 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/50591261 

Europe's fight with illegal logging: Romania on the frontline

Liviu Pop, is a recent victim of a war that pretty much no one seems to know about.

When we think of illegal logging, we tend to think of the Amazon or maybe southeast Asia, but perhaps not eastern Europe. But Romania contains almost half of Europe's remaining old growth and primeval forest, a vital ecosystem housing bears, wolves, lynx and wildcats.

Boreal Forest in Romania (photo: Wikimedia)

Rangers paying the price:

But it is under threat. The threat comes from illegal loggers who will resort to extreme violence to protect their shady business. The wood they take, ends up around Europe in paper, furniture and the like. Greenpeace Romania estimate that 3 hectares of forest cover is lost every hour in the country from degradation and illegal logging, as well as permitted work.

Pop was a Forest Ranger in the Maramures district of northern Romania, and last week while on duty, he disappeared from contact with his colleagues. Increasingly worried about his whereabouts, his body was found last Wednesday evening in a forest gorge. He had been shot with a hunting rifle - which may have been his own weapon.

A little more than a month earlier, Raducu Garciaia, a Ranger in the Pascani forest district in the northeast of the country, was found near his car with fatal injuries, possibly from an axe. Gabriel Paun, the head of environmental group Agent Green, has been attacked by forestry gangs on several occasions. One time, around four years ago, Paun was attacked in Retezat National Park, and suffered broken ribs and hand, and a cracked skull. His attackers have only just gone to trial.

Romsilva, the state owned forestry company, say they have counted 16 attacks this year alone. Silviu Geana, the head of the Silva Trade Union Federation, says that Rangers are unable to defend themselves, and six Rangers have dies in recent years.

In September 2019, NGO's including Agent Green, ClientEarth and EuroNatr, filed a complaint with the European Commission against the Romanian government for illegal logging practices, which they say contravene EU laws on nature conservation. The government says it has boosted the fight against such logging, with better inspection and monitoring introduced, although the EU say big challenges remain ahead.

The scale of Romania's forests:
There is no reliable inventory of the unique areas of wilderness and forest in Romania; and there is no adequate systems in place to protect such areas either. A 2005 survey by Dutch scientists did complete an inventory and mapping exercise, but it seems it contained many errors and omissions.

More was done in 2016 with a new government catalogue was created, with criteria for identifying virgin and quasi-virgin forest. Numerous studies have been handed in by Agent Green, Greenpeace and WWF, but only a few of them have been accepted - leading to complaints that the authorities are stalling, and that the government is under pressure from logging companies to ensure such areas are not designated.

These old forests used to be locally managed for firewood, crafts and housebuilding; but years of state backed lax regulation and corruption led to this being eroded. The giveaway was when factory processing of timber was far outstripping the legal timber cutting quotas. Locals started to sell their forest stakes to the big buyers, perhaps under pressure, and the old forests were becoming more easily broken up.

Environmental fight back?
Environmentalists have started to fight back, by trying to expose the unsustainability of the practices going on. There is now a Forest Inspector website, that makes transportation data available, and people can now report shipments they suspect might be illegal. 

But the corruption still largely remains, and there is a fear of reprisals for anyone thinking about speaking out.

In September 2017, a truck leaving the Fagaras mountains was stopped by activists. A subsequent investigation found that over-cutting in the area has been at a staggering 4,100 percent!

The World Heritage Commission recently recognised 24,000 hectares of beech forests as having "outstanding universal value." But activists have identified logging in buffer zones of several World Heritage areas, such as in Domogled National Park and Sinca Woods.

Sarmisegetuza Regia (photo: Wikimedia)

Sarmisegetuza Regia is the site of the ancient Dacian capital, and contains a ruined citadel over 2,000 years old - known as 'Romania's Macchu Pichu'. Nature and culture are bound together here - and at times quite literally - as the roots from trees surrounding the fortress help bind and stabilise the soil. Yet the government approved the cutting down of 100 trees, and the big logging tractors sent in to do the job caused irreparable damage. Once drone footage showed that many of these trees were well away from tourist trails (one key defence had been to remove dying trees for health and safety purposes), and this started to cause a stir among the Romanian public.

While much attention has been given to the horrific destruction going on in the Amazon's forests over the last few decades, the end result still seems to be largely unchanged - acre after acre of forest continues to disappear. But if the action has moved to our own (relative) back door - perhaps the activists of Europe will be joined by the rest of the public, and can make some noise and force some changes? To do that, there needs to be awareness - so spread the word please.......

Research:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-50094830 
https://theecologist.org/2018/mar/07/protecting-romanias-primeval-forests 

Get the fork outside - gardening is good for you!

At work we are heading towards the climax of a competition we have been running that any of our operational sites can enter - Depots in Bloom. This started on one contract a few years ago, as a way to get our typically dreary maintenance compounds brightened up a bit, and encourage our staff to think about biodiversity and pollinators.

Now, two years later, it is open to all our contracts around England, and we have started to also realise the mental wellbeing benefits of being involved with this as well. Getting away from a desk or whatever other duties you have for 10 minutes to engage with a gardening task (yes, even weeding), to engage with colleagues doing something other than the regular day job, and just enjoy the way the depot has been enlivened - is giving many of our staff a lift, and a smile on their faces!

The benefits of gardening on our mental health are becoming increasingly well known, through numerous studies, but also for anyone who has been out there and done some gardening - we just know it.

Fox in my garden. Photo: James Geraghty

We now know that it can help with  depression, anxiety, stress, and can also combat high blood pressure and help with our physical fitness. But why is that the case? Colin Campbell-Preston, at Capital Gardens, has some ideas on this;

• Responsibility:
• By caring for plants so that they don't die, it gives people a sense of purpose and a sense of worth. By caring for other things, it helps us to learn how to care for ourselves.
• Connects us to nature:
• This is especially true in urban areas - being in a green space helps us to de-stress and relax.
• Non-judgemental:
• Plants don't judge us, which is really helpful if you suffer from anxiety.
• Exercise:
• Studies are showing that 3 to 4 hours in the garden burns the equivalent calories as an hour in the gym. It also releases endorphins, which make us satisfied and relaxed.
• Therapy:
• Getting out in the garden gets us away from those things that are weighing us down, maybe some bad news, or more bills to pay, and we can focus our attention onto a completely different task.
• Venting:
• Gardening can help us vent our anger and frustration. Have a bad day? Come home, grab a spade or some shears, and take it out on that overgrown hedge or weedy vegetable patch!

Ecotherapy:
This is a formal treatment you can get through your GP which research has shown, can help with mild to moderate depression. It combines physical exercise and social contact, with being outside in nature. The focus is on the activity rather than the illness, and people get to do activities and interact at the pace they choose.

National Garden Society:
Is already well known for having open days at gardens around the country, and since 2017 has held a Gardens and Health week in May, to promote the positive impacts of gardens and gardening on mental and physical health.

Walking through the grounds at Stourhead
is very relaxing. Photo: James Geraghty

Thrive:
Thrive is a charity specialising in Social & Therapeutic Horticulture (STH) - they say it can help people re-build after illness or a difficult time, and also slow the degradation rates of those with degenerative conditions, through;

• Using plants and gardens to improve physical and mental health, and also communication and thinking skills
• Setting tasks to suit each person - with goals that they want to achieve
• Through improving physical health, exercise also strengthens muscles and helps improve mobility
• Improving mental health by giving people a purpose and sense of achievement
• Gives people the opportunity to connect with nature and each other, reducing feelings of isolation and exclusion
• Offers people a chance to learn new skills - it may even improve their chances in the job market

Even if you have little or now garden to work with where you live, you can still make a start with this by planting a few salad leaves or herbs in a window box or plant pot. You could also consider applying to share an allotment, look for a community garden to get involved with, or even go fruit picking at a local 'pick your own' orchard.

Even in the city you can enjoy beautiful
places - like this canal close to the heart
of Birmingham, Photo: James Geraghty

Other ways to get enjoyment and therapy from green spaces include making artwork from stuff you have gathered on a walk, such as leaves or bark or feathers. You could also try your hand at drawing or painting scenes from local nature walks you have done, or take photos of your local park or woods and maybe have them as screensavers or wallpaper on your phone or computer.

Research:
https://www.capitalgardens.co.uk/blog/gardening-great-mental-health-wellbeing/
https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/tips-for-everyday-living/nature-and-mental-health/how-nature-benefits-mental-health/#.XWEj0uhKiUk
https://www.farmgarden.org.uk/
https://ngs.org.uk/gardens-and-health/
https://www.thrive.org.uk/how-we-help/what-we-do/social-therapeutic-horticulture

Turning iron into greenery

This post, somewhat strangely, was influenced by a recent episode of BBC Gardeners World....

This was not about some nice cottage garden in Wiltshire, or the grand expanse outside a stately home, but rather an old factory. In Germany.

Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord is in North Rhine Westphalia. Judging by the photos of it now, it is hard to believe that in early 1985, this place was still a working ironworks.

One of the old bunkers converted into a garden (Wikimedia Commons)

In April 1985, the Thyssen ironworks closed down, and it lay dormant for several years. But then in 1991, Peter Latz and partners won a contract to design a new landscaped park on the site. Unlike others, Latz decided to keep and fully incorporate the old buildings on this 180ha site, preserving as much as he possibly could. 

He even went as far as designing in the retention of all the polluted soils. Rather than excavating and replacing them, they were filled with plants that could achieve phytoremediation, that is, using plants called hyperaccumulators to clean the soil! Such plants include many from the mustard and cabbage family; the bioaccelerate, degrade or render harmless, many contaminants including heavy metals and organic pollutants.

The ironworks structures were turned into features of the park, and the site was divided into separate areas which were then joined together by a thread of pathways and waterways, using the old railway and sewage systems for guidance. The park opened in 1994, and now regularly gets around a million visitors a year. The Guardian newspaper, here in the UK, added it to its list of the ten most beautiful urban oases in the world.

The frames of the old ironworks buildings stand out, but have been softened as nature regains old ground (Wikimedia Commons)

Some of the ingenious design features include;

• Old ore bunkers turned into intimate spaces, such as alpine gardens.
• An old gas tank used as a massive pool for scuba divers.
• The old concrete walls retained for use by rock climbers.
• The middle of the steel mill is now the grand central piazza.
• The Casthouse has a high-ropes course set-up.
• The blast furnace has had a viewing tower added to it.
• For the kids - a massive tube slide goes through two of the bunkers; and there is also a children's farm and multiple play areas.

The site has around 700 plant species contained there, and it is now a popular site for artists, dog walkers, cyclists, architecture students and more.

This is a great story about, in essence, recycling and reusing, but just on a grand scale. The sustainable impact of such a place is huge - no mass displacement of waste or polluted soil, not much virgin material added, hectares of new woodland and gardens, all wrapped up in something that has become a vital community resource.

But such an urban park is not the first, nor is it the only one - although it may be one of the more impressive ones.

And now, London is set to become the first so-called National Park City. The National Park City Foundation is a registered charity that has worked with the Salzburg Global Seminar and World Urban Parks to formulate a Universal Charter of National Park Cities - which aims to provide a framework and key principles to work by. The Charter says a National Park City is;

"A place, a vision and a city-wide community that is acting together to make life better for people, wildlife and nature. A defining feature is the widespread commitment to act so people, culture and nature work together to provide a better foundation for life.
It is a timely cultural choice, a commitment to a sense of place and way of life that sustains people and nature in cities and beyond.
People and cities around the world can draw from the goals, principles and aspirations of this Universal Charter for National Park Cities."

London launched this status with a festival last month, with 300 events across the city to help people with a 'free celebration of the great outdoors.' Dr Cecily Maller says of this initiative in London;

"In the past, cities have been considered impoverished forms of nature compared to places such as national parks, but this is changing."

This change is necessary, as the UN predicts that almost two-thirds of the world's population will live in cities by 2050. Other urban rewilding comes with 'wildlife gardening'; that is, removing some of the weed plants that choke native species, adding in water features, adding / retaining trees, and re-introducing more native species. This can create 'safe spots' for wildlife to survive in, such as the brush turkeys that returned to Brisbane in the 1970s, because residents planted the rainforest plants that they like. Maller adds;

"Research has shown that cities provide important habitats for a wide range of species, including those that might be endangered or under threat. We undervalue the richness of nature in urban areas by positioning nature and humanity as inherently separate." 

Research:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landschaftspark_Duisburg-Nord 

https://www.landschaftspark.de/en/

https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/environment/parks-green-spaces-and-biodiversity/london-national-park-city

http://www.nationalparkcity.london/national-park-city-foundation

https://npc-universal-charter.netlify.com/

Transform Magazine: 'Into the wild' -May 2019