Standing up for Trees - Woodland Trust
Like many good ideas, the Woodland Trust came into being around a kitchen table, when a group of like-minded friends banded together to save a local woodland.
The kitchen table in question belonged to Kenneth Watkins, who was so concerned at the loss of an ancient site in Devon, he decided to do something about it. Now, nearly 50 years later, the Woodland Trust is the UK’s largest woodland conservation charity, with half a million members, a national network of volunteers and more than 1,000 sites of its own, ranging from short lengths of hedgerow, to a mountain in Scotland. It has a head office in Grantham plus a network of regional offices - quite a journey from the kitchen table!
Essentially, the Woodland Trust stands up for trees. It aims to see a UK rich in native woods and trees, for wildlife and for people. Its workers create, restore and protect these vital natural resources. The Woodland Trust creates havens for wildlife by planting millions of trees every year, also helping to combat climate change. The UK’s woodland cover currently stands at just 13%, but the charity is aiming to bring this figure closer to the EU average of 37%. Since 1972 the trust has planted an incredible 47 million new trees - and planting new trees is one of the most effective ways of combating climate change. Trees are the ultimate carbon capture and storage machines. Woods and forests absorb atmospheric carbon and lock it up for centuries. They do this through photosynthesis. In fact, the entire woodland ecosystem plays a huge role in locking up carbon, including the living wood, roots, leaves, deadwood, surrounding soils and its associated vegetation. And trees do more than just capture carbon. They also fight the cruel effects of a changing climate. They can help prevent flooding; reduce city temperatures; reduce pollution and keep soil nutrient-rich.
The trust also campaigns for new laws to protect ancient woodland. A vocal opponent of the HS2 project, the charity believes more than 100 ancient woodland sites are under threat from the proposed rail link - there are also many smaller developments which impact woodlands throughout the country which the trust is actively fighting to protect. A proposed motorway service station at Smithy Wood will now not go ahead after a six-year battle, saving an 850-year-old woodland site, and an ancient woodland near Pontypool has been saved, following another successful campaign by the charity.
A large part of the trust’s work concerns the restoration of ancient woodlands. This type of cover, developed over hundreds of years and supporting rare wildlife, makes up just 2.4% of the woodlands in the UK. Many ancient woodland sites were planted over with non-native trees, damaging their unique biodiversity by throwing deep shade onto the woodland floor. Non-native plants like rhododendron, Himalayan balsam and snowberry are also encroaching into woodlands, competing with native plants. Restoration is the careful process of removing these threats. This enables natural regeneration of native trees and plants, and helps wildlife to thrive. Managed well, restoration can bring ancient woodland back from the brink and provide other benefits, such as income from timber. The trust not only carries out this work in its own sites, but works with landowners and managers of privately owned woodland, to date committing more than 34,000 hectares of damaged woodlands back into a process of recovery.
Fingle Woods, on the northern fringes of Dartmoor in the steep Teign Valley, is one of the largest woodland restoration projects the charity has ever taken on. The site is made up of eight different woods, which the charity jointly owns and manages with the National Trust. Carefully reclaiming the ancient site for nature, it’s a treasure for people to enjoy too, with 28 miles of new trails with stunning views and wonderful wildflowers. Wildlife is making a comeback at Fingle Woods. Some 36 species of breeding birds have been recorded there, including red-listed rarities. There are otters along the river, 12 bat species and threatened butterflies, including dingy skippers and pearl-bordered fritillaries. You may be lucky enough to spot fallow deer or kingfishers - and the protected hazel dormouse is also to be found in this wonderful woodland.
And to ensure everyone in the UK has the chance to plant a tree for the environment, the Woodland Trust is giving away hundreds of thousands of trees to schools and communities. There are a variety of different packs that can be applied for, from a hedge or copse pack to a wild harvest or year-round colour pack. For more information about how to apply for an autumn 2021 delivery, go to www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/plant-trees/schools-and-communities. For more information about the Woodland Trust and ways you can support it see www.woodlandtrust.org.uk